When east meets west: the relationship between yin‐yang and antioxidation‐oxidation

Ancient traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has effectively relied on the theory of yin‐yang balance in diagnoses and treatments of diseases and disorders for more than 2000 years. However, in eastern society, yin‐yang is regarded as an incomprehensible ideology without definite physical meaning. Consequently, the yin‐yang balance in medicine has not been studied by modern scientific means. In the western world, yin‐yang balance is often misunderstood as a religious belief or a principle of lifestyle. Herein, we attempted to define the physical meaning of yin‐yang in TCM by correlating it with biochemical processes. We propose that yin‐yang balance is antioxidation‐oxidation balance with yin representing antioxidation and yang as oxidation. Our proposal is partially supported by the fact that the yin‐tonic traditional Chinese herbs have, on average, about six times more antioxidant activity and polyphenolic contents than the yang‐tonic herbs. Our hypothesis opens an avenue to systematically study the yin‐yang balance and its health implications with the use of modern biochemical tools.—Ou, B., Huang, D., Hampsch‐Woodill, M., Flanagan J.A. When east meets west: the yelationship between yin‐yang and antioxidation‐oxidation. FASEB J. 17, 127–129 (2003)