Problems and prospects of current studies on the microecology of tongue coating

Juan Ye; Xueting Cai; Peng Cao

doi:10.1186/1749-8546-9-9

Problems and prospects of current studies on the microecology of tongue coating

Chin Med. 2014 Mar 5;9(1):9. doi: 10.1186/1749-8546-9-9.

Authors

Juan Ye, Xueting Cai, Peng Cao¹

Affiliation

¹ Jiangsu Branch of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Nanjing 210028, China. pcao79@yahoo.com.

Abstract

Tongue diagnosis in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) assesses the health by investigation of tongue coating. The science and technology of tongue coating analysis have become a significant issue for modernization of TCM. The relationship between microecology of tongue coating and TCM was relevant to the syndrome differentiation in TCM, such as the cold/hot syndrome may exhibit different specific microbiota patterns in the tongue coating. This article provides a review on the microbiota research of tongue coating.