Scientific connotation of Chinese medicine refracted in bioenergetics / 中国中西医结合杂志

ABSTRACT

The discovery of the electron leak pathways of mitochondrial respiratory chain reveals that the respiratory chain not only included in ATP synthesis through the electron transfer pathway but also included in reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation through the electron leak pathways. The negative effect of ROS is the reason for causing pathological event, but more important is the signaling role of ROS, which had important physiological effect. In this article we take the human body as an aggregate of a huge amount of life-engine and perceive the respiratory chain as "yin-yang" element to describe the modern life science connotation born in the "yin-yang" theory of Chinese medicine.