Similarities between the Yin/Yang Doctrine and Hormesis in Toxicology and Pharmacology

Haoyu Sun; Edward J Calabrese; Zhifen Lin; Baoling Lian; Xiaoxian Zhang

doi:10.1016/j.tips.2020.05.004

Similarities between the Yin/Yang Doctrine and Hormesis in Toxicology and Pharmacology

Trends Pharmacol Sci. 2020 Aug;41(8):544-556. doi: 10.1016/j.tips.2020.05.004. Epub 2020 Jun 18.

Authors

Haoyu Sun¹, Edward J Calabrese², Zhifen Lin³, Baoling Lian⁴, Xiaoxian Zhang⁵

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China; Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai 200092, China; Post-Doctoral Research Station, College of Civil Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China; Shanghai Key Laboratory of Chemical Assessment and Sustainability, Shanghai, China. Electronic address: sunhaoyu2015@tongji.edu.cn.
² Department of Public Health, Environmental Health Sciences, Morrill I, N344, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA.
³ State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China; Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai 200092, China; Shanghai Key Laboratory of Chemical Assessment and Sustainability, Shanghai, China; State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
⁴ Huadong Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University, 221 West Yan'an Road, Shanghai, China.
⁵ State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China.

Abstract

Hormesis is a generalizable dose-response relationship characterized by low-dose stimulation and high-dose inhibition. Despite debate over this biphasic dose-response curve, hormesis is challenging central beliefs in the evaluation of chemicals or drugs and has influenced biological model selection, concentration range, study design, and hypothesis testing. We integrate the traditional Chinese philosophy - Yin/Yang doctrine - into the representation of the Western hormetic dose-response relationship and review the Yin/Yang historical philosophy contained in the hormesis concept, aiming to promote general acceptance and wider applications of hormesis. We suggest that the Yin/Yang doctrine embodies the hormetic dose-response, including the relationship between the opposing components, curve shape, and time-dependence, and may afford insights that clarify the hormetic dose-response relationship in toxicology and pharmacology.

Keywords: Yin/Yang doctrine; dose–response relationship; hormesis; pharmacology; toxicology.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
Hormesis*
Humans
Models, Biological*