Is "Using Organs to Supplement Organs" Scientifically Valid?
It is commonly heard in folk wisdom: “For stomach pain, eat pig’s stomach.” “For heart disease, eat pig’s heart.” “For fractures, stew pig’s leg bones.” “For anemia, eat more pig liver.” “For impotence, consume dog penis.” These are all treatment methods based on the traditional Chinese medicine theory of “using organs to supplement organs.”
The concept of “using organs to supplement organs” means using animal organs to nourish deficiencies in human organs. Does this have scientific basis? Yes. Traditional Chinese medicine holds that animal organs belong to “living flesh with emotions,” meaning strong affinity. From a biological perspective, due to long-term evolution and development, animals and humans share common features in organ structure, chemical composition, and physiological functions, which may lead to the effect described in TCM as “like attracts like.” “Using organs to supplement organs” is not merely about supplementation; rather, it involves regulating the physiological functions of corresponding human organs through substances contained in animal organs, thus achieving therapeutic effects. For example:
Pig gastric mucosa can produce gastric mucin and pepsin. Gastric mucin acts as a protective barrier against gastric acid, used to treat ulcers and hyperacidity; pepsin aids digestion and helps relieve poor appetite and indigestion.
Modern medicine has extracted cytochrome C, cardiac hormones, coenzyme A, and other substances from animal hearts, widely applied in clinical treatment of heart and other diseases.
Bone contains bone marrow, bone cells, calcium, proteoglycans, etc., all of which promote fracture healing in humans.
Liver contains various nutrients; vitamin A treats jaundice (blindness); iron content treats anemia; RNA content treats hepatitis and cirrhosis.
TCM theory suggests close links between kidneys and reproductive and urinary systems. Specific cellular biological spheres extracted from kidneys show good results in treating chronic nephritis.
Animal bile and its components—such as sodium cholate and dehydrocholic acid—have significant cholagogue effects, useful for treating cholecystitis, gallstones, and post-cholecystectomy syndrome.
Animal brains contain abundant phospholipids. A formula combining pig or cow brain with codonopsis and licorice (Shen Nao San) shows excellent results in treating neurasthenia, autonomic nervous system dysfunction, and sequelae after brain injury.