To summarize the biological effects of four natures of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in the recent 40 years, including cold, hot, warm and cool, which have the effect on central nervous system, endocrine system on the activity of sympathetic nerves, basal metabolic rate, the function of organs and tissues and secretion of cytokine out of body. And to review the new concepts and new hypotheses in recent 10 years which proposed on the four natures of traditional Chinese medicine. Based on the above summary we pointed out that the previous studies on biological effects have shortage in the following aspects: The studies had little connection with the TCM theory; The research highly concentrated on the biological effects of the cold and heat natures of drug; There is almost no research on the biological effects of the neutral nature; The research on the biological effects of the natures of traditional Chinese medicine had no combination with effects of drugs. And pointed out that studies on four natures of traditional Chinese medicine will be a multi-level, multi-disciplinary, multi-factor, multi-targe research, connecting Chinese medicine theory. The research will be a combination of the macro research and the micro research, the qualitative research and the quantitative research and the experimental research and the clinical research.
Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; methods

Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; methods

Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; methods

Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; methods ; Translations

In order to explore the objective rule and the key factors in the development of diseases, the process from quantitative change to qualitative change, and from health through sub-health to disease, a new thinking of research, enitled by "Constitution-Subhealth-Disease Relation Developing Axis" is offered by the author. This axis took the CM theory on body constitution as a core, with the coordinates composed of physiological and pathological indices concerning the quantitative changes of illness accumulated under sub-health state. Meanwhile, the key factors for advancing the access and inducing qualitative change of illness were denoted. The orientation of the research is starting from two aspects, horizontally on the crowd possessing the same body constitution, and longitudinally on the same person in different conditions. The research sum-up the general rule of disease occurrence through individually studying the process in persons with different body constitutions, then the commonness of diseases developed from the bottom was explored by applying the outcomes of the foregoing global study on the sorted researches of different constitutions.
Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; methods

Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; methods

Medicinal nature theory of Chinese medicine is the difficult and hot issue in the basic research of Chinese medicine (CM), but has not yet obtained some important breakthrough until now. The cold and heat syndromes is considered as the capital differentiation of CM in clinic; cold and hot is the primary medicinal nature of CM. Treating the cold with heat, the heat with cold is the main therapeutic principle of CM. But, whether the cold and hot of medicinal nature objectively exists? Whether/how to establish a set of objectives and feasible appraisal methodologies? How to apply the theoratical and research findings of medicinal nature in clinical practice? In recent years, a new road for ourselves to carry out a series of explorations and researches on the cold and hot nature of CM from the thermodynamic view has been opened, and the doctrine of "Thermodynamic outlook of Chinese medicinal nature" has been proposed firstly by our research group. Consequently, we have established the research model, "coming from clinic, verifying in experiment and returning to the clinic", on the medicinal nature of CM, and developed a set of appraisal methodologies of the cold and hot nature of Chinese medicine based on biothermokinetics, such as the cold/hot plate differentiating system, microcalorimetry, evidence-based medical analysis for medicinal nature of CM. Based on these methods, a systematical investigation has been done focusing the energy transfer and thermal change in the metabolism progress of organism and the intervention effects of different Chinese medicines on this progress from the experiment to the clinic, in vitro and in vivo. Our studies have essentially elucidated the objectivity of the differences between the cold and hot nature of Chinese medicine as well as the scientific connotation of "treating the cold with heat, the heat with cold", provided a novel and perspective approach for investigating the medicinal nature theory of Chinese medicine, further supplied some new technological supports for the modernization of CM.
Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; methods ; Thermodynamics

Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; methods

Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; methods

Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; methods