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Scientists find traditional Chinese medicine is based on a complex network of proteins – 3,000 years before modern science
- Researchers have mapped proteins associated with symptoms against target proteins of herbs to reveal TCM’s hidden scientific foundation
- It is the first study to translate TCM into modern medical knowledge, and to validate traditional medicines’ effectiveness on a ‘systematic level’
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It is regarded by many as pseudoscience, but according to a new study, traditional Chinese medicine has a complex foundation based on a scientific understanding of proteins.
The findings suggest that the 3,000-year-old medical practice in China may have “more similarities than differences” to modern medicine, the international team of researchers said.
Editorials from the journal Nature, which represents the mainstream science community, have repeatedly called traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) “largely just pseudoscience” and “based on unsubstantiated theories”.
However, a paper published on October 28 in Science Advances unveiled a previously unknown medicinal framework that reveals the hidden scientific foundation of TCM.
TCM is one of the oldest medical systems in the world, with the earliest records of the practice dating back to the Shang dynasty (1766-1122BC), an era of booming economy and industry that produced some the most sophisticated bronze artefacts in history.
The foundation of TCM lies in treating symptoms that are believed to occur when there is an imbalance between yin and yang.
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