Coffee may cut alcohol liver damage

June 18, 2006

type=healthNews & storyID=2006-06-12T201101Z_01_N12263964_RTRIDST_0_HEALTH

-COFFEE-DC.XML

I would suspect that this might be due in part to coffee's damp-

draining and transforming effect. But there must be more to it than

that. I think an important concept in ayurveda that is not quite

paramount in TCM is prabhava or the special medicinal usage of a

substance. Ayurveda classifies substances (like TCM) according to

flavor, temperature, affected organs and traditional actions (like

transform phlegm). However, ayurveda has also always recognized

prabhava, properties that are not explained by these attributes, yet

which are often the most potent functions of a given medicinal.

Contrary to the idea that TCM properties accurately reflect the

biochemistry (or energy) of an herb in a holistic fashion, the

concept of prabhava is in many more similar to the modern idea of

isolated drug effects. The prabhava is specifically a potency that

could only be perceived by observing the effects of the medicinal on

the body and which could not be explained by reference to sensible

attributes like taste and temperature. The hindus explicitly

considered the source of this power to be invisible to the naked

senses. IMO, that makes prabhava something that is likely dependent

on a particular molecule or family of molecules. While American TCM

community is not keen about such ideas, much modern chinese research

is focused on how active constituents are involved in herb action as

opposed to merely explaining it by reference to attributes. The

success of TCM over the long haul depends to some degree upon

embracing this idea with its both ancient roots and modern branches

in the far east.

Chinese Herbs

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