<b>“Mi-byo” and Homeostatic Inflammation : Possible Regulation by Herbal Medicine</b> / 日本東洋医学雑誌

ABSTRACT

“Mi-byo” (pre-disease) is a special concept in Chinese Medicine proposed about 2,200 years ago in the ancient text <i>Ko-tei-nai-kei</i>, which states that “a Saint-like Doctor” can cure “mi-byo”. However, no one has been saintly enough to explain an actual “mi-byo” status to date. In the 21 th century, as immunology has developed, the novel notion of “homeostatic inflammation” began to be postulated. Here, “homeostatic inflammation” means the self-repairing steps initiated by innate immune sensors when they encounter either PAMPs (pathogen-associated molecular patterns) or with DAMPs (danger signal-or damage-associated molecular patterns) composed of either lipids-or nucleic acids-related substances through their own TLRs (toll-like receptors) or NLRs (NOD-like receptors), respectively. If such “homeostatic inflammation” does correlate with the “mi-byo”, perhaps we can control it by using herbal medicines containing various saponins, essential oils, alkaroids, and flavonoids that may reinforce innate barriers by regulating the effect of lipids and nucleic acids.