Page 296 - EJMO-9-2

Eurasian Journal of
Medicine and Oncology Green prescription of TCM in RA

long-term benefits in the treatment of RA. Separately, the Author contributions
implementation of traditional Chinese diet therapy can
help prevent and treat the disease, promoting recovery Conceptualization: Ligang Jie
through the rational selection and combination of foods Writing – original draft: Yan Zhang
that have great potential in the treatment of RA. With the Writing – editing & review: Yan Zhang
core concept of “medicine-food homology,” traditional References
Chinese diet therapy emphasizes the combination of the
medicinal and nutritional value of food. Historically, a 1. Black RJ, Cross M, Haile LM, et al. Global, regional, and
variety of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) that can national burden of rheumatoid arthritis, 1990–2020,
treat RA, such as coix seed, papaya, and soya bean yellow and projections to 2050: A systematic analysis of the
roll, had been recorded by a physician in the Tang Dynasty Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. Lancet Rheumatol.
2023;5(10):e594-e610.
called Sun Simiao. These records provide a theoretical
10
basis for the treatment of RA using traditional Chinese diet doi: 10.1016/s2665-9913(23)00211-4
therapy. At present, a large number of studies have shown 2. Hsieh PH, Wu O, Geue C, McIntosh E, McInnes IB, Siebert S.
that many TCM monomers or components have the effect Economic burden of rheumatoid arthritis: A systematic
of treating RA, and many randomized controlled trials review of literature in biologic era. Ann Rheum Dis.
(RCTs) have shown that the patented medicine extracts 2020;79(6):771-777.
of TCM have a significant effect on the treatment of doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2019-216243
RA. 11,12 The research on TCM monomers and components
provides an important reference for TCM dietary therapy 3. Di Matteo A, Bathon JM, Emery P. Rheumatoid arthritis.
but cannot be used as direct evidence for the treatment of Lancet. 2023;402(10416):2019-2033.
RA by traditional Chinese diet therapy since TCM dietary doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(23)01525-8
therapy is not conceptually equivalent to traditional 4. Sepriano A, Kerschbaumer A, Bergstra SA, et al. Safety
Chinese diet therapy. At present, clinical research on the of synthetic and biological DMARDs: A systematic
treatment of RA by traditional Chinese diet therapy is still literature review informing the 2022 update of the EULAR
lacking, so it is urgent to conduct systematic research on recommendations for the management of rheumatoid
the treatment of RA by traditional Chinese diet therapy arthritis. Ann Rheum Dis. 2023;82(1):107-118.
to clarify its mechanism of action and clinical efficacy in doi: 10.1136/ard-2022-223357
the treatment of RA, and to provide a scientific basis for
clinical application. 5. England BR, Smith BJ, Baker NA, et al. 2022 American
College of Rheumatology Guideline for exercise,
Due to its desired traits in terms of safety, cost, and rehabilitation, diet, and additional integrative interventions
sustainability, GPCM has broad application prospects in for rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken).
the treatment of RA, especially in public health events, 2023;75(8):1603-1615.
highlighting the value of complementary and alternative doi: 10.1002/acr.25117
therapies. In the future, the mechanism of action will
be thoroughly analyzed using multi-omics techniques 6. Stanhope J, Weinstein P. What are green prescriptions? A
(e.g., metabolomics, microbiomics) and systems biology scoping review. J Prim Health Care. 2023;15(2):155-161.
modeling to provide a solid theoretical basis for GPCM. doi: 10.1071/HC23007
At the same time, large-scale clinical trials are warranted 7. Adewuyi FA, Knobel P, Gogna P, Dadvand P. Health effects
to optimize the design of RCTs, and a standardized of green prescription: A systematic review of randomized
TCM diagnosis and efficacy evaluation system is needed controlled trials. Environ Res. 2023;236(Pt 2):116844.
to further verify the role of GPCM in the standardized doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.116844
treatment of RA. In addition, to promote the precision
and intelligent application of GPCM, combining artificial 8. Chang T, Ma X, Gong X, Xia C, Jiang Q, Zhang R. Effect of
intelligence, big data, and intelligent assisted diagnosis and traditional Chinese Yijinjing exercise on hand dysfunction
treatment technology should be considered. In conclusion, in rheumatoid arthritis patients: A randomized controlled
GPCM as an important part of the adjuvant therapy of RA trial. Front Med (Lausanne). 2024;11:1454982.
is worthy of further exploration and research. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2024.1454982

Conflict of interest 9. Du J, Liang C, Guo C. The efficacy of selected tai chi
movements and hand exercise for people with rheumatoid
The authors declare they have no competing interests. arthritis. Arch Budo. 2022;18:175-182.

Volume 9 Issue 2 (2025) 288 doi: 10.36922/EJMO025100049