Epistemological issues in the theory of Chinese medicine

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been criticized for being unscientific because the theory on which it is based involves entities like qi and ’meridians’ that appear ambiguous and because the internal ‘organs’ like the kidney and the spleen are very different from those of modern anatomy and physiology. Even more so, TCM methods of therapy based on the yin-yang principle, the model of the five elements, and the classification of illnesses according to standard constellations of symptoms (TCM “syndromes”) are largely unproven by the protocols of modern evidence-based medicine. This dissertation attempts to reconstruct TCM theory by: (a) providing explanations of TCM entities as abstractions and constructs that relate to observable body functions and illness symptoms and (b) interpreting TCM theory as comprising heuristic models that were constructed from clinical experience to fit empirical observations of illnesses and their treatments with herbal medications and acupuncture. It suggests that scientists should be less concerned with the ontological status of TCM entities and the epistemic credentials of TCM models than with the ability of these concepts and models to guide physicians in therapy. More importantly, it makes the argument that these models are testable using the methods of evidence-based medicine. There are methodological difficulties associated with randomized controlled trials partly because TCM treatments tend to be individualized and syndromes are dynamic in nature; observational trials may be more appropriate in some situations. It is also possible that, for patients who are more culturally attuned to TCM, the placebo effect is strongly at play and may render the real effects of TCM treatments harder to tease out in clinical trials. The dissertation concludes that the main postulates of TCM should be put to rigorous test. The result may be a leaner but more robust theory, with parts that do not stand up to the test being rejected or modified, and a possible acceptance of its more modest therapeutic claims for a limited range of pathological conditions like pain and chronic illnesses

In silico approaches in the study of traditional Chinese herbal medicine

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH

Cultural constructions of illness : the client and practitioner perspectives of traditional Chinese medicine. Perth Western Australia

An increased use of Complementary and alternate health care practices (CAM) and under which TCM is found assumed, is found in overseas countries and has become increasingly popular among Australian consumer. There has been a considerably increase in the consumer use of TCM over the past decade, but little is understood on the practice of the clinical encounter in TCM explained from the context within a clinic in western society.Investigation was made on how social and cultural processes have shaped people’s acceptance of TCM as a form of complementary health. Drawing from an ethnographic focus, the study explores the practice of TCM in several clinic settings in Perth. Attention is paid to the ways in which notions of health and illness are constructed by clients and practitioners. This study examined the interactions found in the process of ‘Kanbing’ from a TCM practice in Perth, Western Australia in order to understand how health practices are shaped by cultural and social processes. From an anthropological perspective, the ethnography of this study was guided an extended contact with the everyday clinical context of TCM, facilitated through participant observation, interviews with clients and practitioners and case study analysis. Interviews revealed perspectives from clients of non-Asian backgrounds to record the lived experiences of the encounters between the practitioner and client of TCM in the clinic. Participant observation took place over a two year period from February 2002 to March 2003 with further follow up work in the field conducted at intervals throughout 2004 and 2006 to gain additional data.The client centred interrelationships between practitioners of TCM, clients, and their perceptions, formed part of the interpretative process that informed the understanding of the cultural context from how an illness is described and explained through the process of Kanbing. My research was drawn from the reality of the encounter within the clinical context through participant observation within two western clinics of TCM. Thus the study makes a contribution to anthropology on the understanding of the structure and meaning found within the practice of traditional Chinese medicine in Australia

Food Safety, Security, Sustainability and Nutrition as Priority Objectives of the Food Sector

The future food systems will have to provide food and nutrition security while facing unprecedented sustainability challenges: this underlines the need for a transition to more sustainable food systems. Taking into account these premises and considering the complexity of food systems, this book aims to present original research articles, reviews, and commentaries concerning the following:Advancements in food and beverage;Dietary supplements, nutraceuticals, and functional food;Food allergy and public health;Food and nutritional toxicology;Food biotechnology and food processing;Food microbiology and food safety;Food packaging;Food safety and food inspection;Food security and environmental impacts;Food waste management;Nutrition and metabolism;Sustainable food systems and agro-ecological food production

Special oils for halal and safe cosmetics

Three types of non conventional oils were extracted, analyzed and tested for toxicity. Date palm kernel oil (DPKO), mango kernel oil (MKO) and Ramputan seed oil (RSO). Oil content for tow cultivars of dates Deglect Noor and Moshkan was 9.67% and 7.30%, respectively. The three varieties of mango were found to contain about 10% oil in average. The red yellow types of Ramputan were found to have 11 and 14% oil, respectively. The phenolic compounds in DPKO, MKO and RSO were 0.98, 0.88 and 0.78 mg/ml Gallic acid equivalent, respectively. Oils were analyzed for their fatty acid composition and they are rich in oleic acid C18:1 and showed the presence of (dodecanoic acid) lauric acid C12:0, which reported to appear some antimicrobial activities. All extracted oils, DPKO, MKO and RSO showed no toxic effect using prime shrimp bioassay. Since these oils are stable, melt at skin temperature, have good lubricity and are great source of essential fatty acids; they could be used as highly moisturizing, cleansing and nourishing oils because of high oleic acid content. They are ideal for use in such halal cosmetics such as Science, Engineering and Technology 75 skin care and massage, hair-care, soap and shampoo products

Natural Alternatives against Bacterial Foodborne Pathogens

The dramatic increase in resistance to antibiotics and disinfectants of foodborne bacterial pathogens has become a serious health problem for consumers and a growing concern for food safety authorities. In this situation, new strategies are being explored that can be employed as useful alternatives in the fight against these pathogens. Natural compounds are considered among the most promising candidates due to their high acceptability and low levels of toxicity, contributing to increased environmental sustainability. Many of these compounds have different bioactive properties and can act as antimicrobials and/or anti-inflammatories, also showing the ability to inhibit the formation of bacterial biofilms. In this book, the invited authors provide evidence that contributes to the visibility of some of these new antibacterial agents, presenting different strategies potentially applicable in the control of various foodborne pathogens