There has been much debate on acupuncture’s efficacy ever since Chinese medicine started gaining recognition as the most sought after form of alternative medicine today. As with most Western types of research, outcomes related to acupuncture are deemed to be inconclusive. Why does Chinese medicine then generate so much attention?

We need to go back to understanding the main theories that underlie Chinese medicine to know how it works – addressing the underlying cause rather than just the symptoms. The own constitution of the patient’s body and the causative agent are the factors that affect the underlying cause of his/her problem. Changes in either factor can lead to changes to the dosage of the herb or the amount of each herb used. These factors really make it difficult to regulate studies done on Chinese medicine. Using the same herbal formula, for example, on all test subjects can never produce the same exact outcome, some may manifest no change, and some may recover, while the others are in between.

The difference in brewing procedures is one other reason why scientific studies throughout tend to end up in conflicting outcomes – difference in the source of the herb, difference in boiling times, and difference in the amount of herbs used, can mean a different concoction. A good way to solve this problem is by following a strict procedure for brewing, but a better, probably the safest decision would be probably brewing all the herbs all at once and storing them in a refrigerator for future utilization. However, another problem can arise: just how much is enough?

Some scientists have proceeded to perform an extraction of the herbs’ active ingredients in order to bypass the above problems. Besides being easier to store, this is a much simpler way to deal with in large amounts. These outcomes have produced promising medicinal potentials for a number of health conditions and can be easily manufactured into pills for marketing purposes. Physicians of Chinese medicine, however, for the most part, do not rely on giving such tablets. They instead follow still the traditional mode of mixing and combining the herbs together. If the pills are effective, why then do they still do this? The reason is that herb mixing can lead to additional effects to address any of the patients secondary discomforts and if certain herbs are mixed together, this may become additive to the treatment of the main problem.

The test subjects being used is the one last issue plaguing scientific research. The medication is first tested on culture plates of cells. This may range from health cells to cancer cells, taken from certain parts of the body such as the cervix or stomach among others. If the culture stage of the cell looks promising, the medications are then tested on animals. Some of the possible test animals used may include monkeys, guinea pigs, rabbits, pigs, and rats. These, however, are not humans, and so if the drug proved effective, clinical trials on humans should follow. Drugs, however, proven effective for animals may not necessary lead to the same outcomes on humans, and vice versa, the drugs proven effective for humans may not work equally on animals. So, since the drug used during scientific research doesn’t work on the animals or cells, is it right to conclude that it would not work on humans?

What basis should we follow to determine if Chinese medicine is truly effective? Supported by its long history, Chinese medicine have gone though tough trials and have pulled through the test of natural selection finally emerging to be one of the best forms alternative medicine that it is now, should be the proof that anyone would need.