A spoonful of honey may make the medicine go down smoother, but could the honey have its own therapeutic benefits, too? That therapeutic relationship between food and medicine is the focus of a new open-access journal called Food & Medicine Homology.
"The concept of food and medicine homology originated from the theory of ancient traditional Chinese medicine, which emphasizes the close association and interconnection between food and medicine," wrote Bin Cong, one of the editors-in-chief, in a perspectives article set to publish in the journal's first issue, scheduled for September.
Cong, who is the dean of the College of Medicine and Forensics at Hebei Medical University in China, explained that food may supplement medicine — and vice versa — to contribute to better health and longer lifespans. This builds on how traditional Chinese medicine promotes the idea of balance when it comes to diet and how various foods can both satisfy hunger and fulfill specific needs.
"The establishment of this theory has been a prolonged process," Cong wrote. "… accumulation of myriad data has demonstrated that some 'foods' can not only satisfy satiety, but also possess various biological functions such as health preservation, wellness promotion, disease preventions and even treatment."
The idea, Cong explained, is not that food can serve as a treatment by itself. Rather, food and medicine can work together to provide a bevy of benefits — from nutritional to therapeutic. For example, leafy greens or whole grains may not cure a cold, but they can provide nutrients that help the human immune system function better. Some foods, such as bread or rice, can help protect the stomach lining from more abrasive medication while also encouraging digestion to metabolize the medicine.
The journal will be published by Tsinghua University Press, the publishing arm of Tsinghua University in China.
"Food & Medicine Homology aims to integrate traditional Chinese medicine and food science, fill the gap of forward-looking English science, technology and medicine journals on food and medicine, and achieve the inheritance, innovation and breakthrough of traditional Chinese medicine culture," said Wenyi Kang, the journal's executive editor-in-chief and a professor at Henan University, where he directs the university's National Research and Development Center for Edible Fungus Processing Technology. "We chose Tsinghua University Press as the publisher because of the technological empowerment of its international publishing platform SciOpen, which can help us achieve the goal of becoming a world class journal on food and medicine."
Kang, who also directs the Henan Province Food Engineering Technology Research Center and the Joint International Research Laboratory of Food and Medicine Resource Function of Henan Province, explained that SciOpen provides free access to an online collection of journals from across multiple disciplines. The platform completely digitizes the process of submitting manuscripts, facilitating peer review, editing, publishing and more to accelerate the scientific communications.
"This aligns with the reason we established the journal," Cong said. "Food & Medicine Homology aims to promote and lead the development of disciplines with cutting-edge scientific research and to advocate for the profound and comprehensive concept of 'medicine and food homology' in China and the world."
The articles in the first issue are listed as below:
[1]Perspectives in Food & Medicine Homology. https://doi.org/10.26599/FMH.2024.9420018
[2]Transformation from traditional medicine-food homology to modern food-medicine homology. https://doi.org/10.26599/FMH.2024.9420014
[3]The chemical composition of the walnut pellicle and its benefits to health Chen-Rui. https://doi.org/10.26599/FMH.2024.9420007
[4]Chemical compositions and health-promoting effects of Cichorium intybus L. (chicory): a narrative review. https://doi.org/10.26599/FMH.2024.9420012
[5]Anti-virulence potential of carvone against Serratia marcescens. https://doi.org/10.26599/FMH.2024.9420001
[6]A bibliometric analysis of lipid peroxidation in alcoholic liver disease from 2001 to 2024. https://doi.org/10.26599/FMH.2024.9420009
[7]Yinshan Zhengyao: exploring the power of food and inheriting healthy thoughts. https://doi.org/10.26599/FMH.2024.9420006
[8]Artemisia argyi polysaccharide alleviates intestinal inflammation and intestinal flora dysbiosis in lipopolysaccharide-treated mice. https://doi.org /10.26599/FMH.2024.9420008
[9]Screening and extraction process optimization for potential α-glucosidase inhibitors from quinoa seeds. https://doi.org/10.26599/FMH.2024.9420004
[10]A novel antidiabetic peptide GPAGAP from Andrias davidianus collagen hydrolysates: screening, action mechanism prediction and improving insulin resistance in HepG2 cells. https://doi.org/10.26599/FMH.2024.9420010
[11]Analysis and comparison of staminate flowers components in five Chinese walnut varieties. https://doi.org/10.26599/FMH.2024.9420005
About Food & Medicine Homology
Food & Medicine Homology is a peer-reviewed, cross-disciplinary, open access journal dedicated to cutting-edge research integrating findings in food science and medicine. The journal publishes papers dealing with plants, animals and microorganisms, reporting the food resources and base materials with nutritional and medicinal values and health-promoting effects that are discovered and confirmed using modern scientific theories and technologies, and providing insights into their health-promoting functions, underlying molecular mechanisms of action and regulatory modes.
Journal website: https://www.sciopen.com/journal/3006-6867
Submission site: https://mc03.manuscriptcentral.com/fmh
About SciOpen
SciOpen is an open access resource of scientific and technical content published by Tsinghua University Press and its publishing partners. SciOpen provides end-to-end services across manuscript submission, peer review, content hosting, analytics, identity management, and expert advice to ensure each journal's development. By digitalizing the publishing process, SciOpen widens the reach, deepens the impact, and accelerates the exchange of ideas.
