NCT02079571

Brief Summary

In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), hot- and cold-attribute of food ingredients are a major part of dietary therapy. "Eight Principles" including cold/hot, repletion/vacuity, yin/yang and exterior/interior are used for diagnose by Chinese medical doctors. From the perspective of TCM, all constitutions, diseases, herbal medicine and foods can be divided into these two major categories, i.e., cold and hot. Therefore, dietary therapy claims that the attributes of foods should be used to oppose our constitutions in order to harmonize organ functions and maintain human vitality. The true benefit of dietary therapy is considered to be the reestablishment of a harmonious balance between cold and hot, or repletion and vacuity, within the human body. Previous studies reported that the capillary red blood cell (RBC) velocity in nail fold microcirculation (NFM) of the subjects with hot constitution accelerated significantly after taking the hot attribute aged ginger tea, which might be the result of elevated vagal activity leading to arteriole dilation in these subjects. In contrast, in subjects with cold constitution, capillary RBC velocity decelerated significantly and skin temperature decreased markedly after taking the cold-attribute coconut water, which might have been induced by sympathetic nerve activation causing the arteriole to be constricted. As a result, the use of capillary RBC velocity of NFM measured by laser Doppler anemometer may be a promising way to classify attributes of food ingredients commonly used in Chinese medicine dietary therapy in accordance with different personal constitutions. Accordingly, it will be a worthwhile task to establish a modern scientific methodology to define the attributes of food ingredients. The aim of this project is to investigate the relationship between food attributes and the physiological signals produced in healthy young subjects with different constitutions. In the first year of this project, investigators are starting to determine the pulse waves produced in healthy subjects with different constitutions by a Smart Pulse Wave Health Evaluation System (S-PULSE). Then, investigators will investigate the relationship between food attributes, channel entries and the physiological signals. Hopefully, the results will have a leverage on the powerful integration capacity within National Taiwan University (NTU) campus to build a hub for global TCM cloud.

Trial Health

55
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Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Enrollment
240

participants targeted

Target at P75+ for not_applicable

Geographic Reach
1 country

1 active site

Status
unknown

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

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Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

Study Start

First participant enrolled

May 1, 2013

Completed
1 month until next milestone

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

June 13, 2013

Completed
9 months until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

March 6, 2014

Completed
9 months until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

December 1, 2014

Completed
Last Updated

March 6, 2014

Status Verified

March 1, 2014

Enrollment Period

1.6 years

First QC Date

June 13, 2013

Last Update Submit

March 4, 2014

Conditions

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

  • Determinations of pulse waves and channel entries produced in healthy subjects with different constitutions by a Smart Pulse Wave Health Evaluation System

    three hours after each intervention

Study Arms (2)

water+ Coconut water

EXPERIMENTAL

forty subjects

Dietary Supplement: Coconut water

ginger tea +water

EXPERIMENTAL
Dietary Supplement: ginger tea

Interventions

Coconut waterDIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

250 ml Coconut water for each subject

water+ Coconut water
ginger teaDIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

250 ml for each subject

ginger tea +water

Eligibility Criteria

Age20 Years - 65 Years
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersYes
Age GroupsAdult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

  • Healthy adult over twenty years old

You may not qualify if:

  • Severe hypertension
  • Cardiovascular diseases

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (1)

Kuan-Hung Lu

Taipei, 106, Taiwan

RECRUITING

Study Officials

  • Ming-Shiang Wu, MD, Ph D

    Chairman and Professor of Primary Care Medicine, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital

    STUDY CHAIR

Central Study Contacts

Lee-Yan Sheen, Ph.D.

CONTACT

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
not applicable
Allocation
NON RANDOMIZED
Masking
NONE
Purpose
BASIC SCIENCE
Intervention Model
SINGLE GROUP
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

June 13, 2013

First Posted

March 6, 2014

Study Start

May 1, 2013

Primary Completion

December 1, 2014

Last Updated

March 6, 2014

Record last verified: 2014-03

Locations