Duì Yaò: The Biochemistry of Relationships
Class Outline & Interactive Components
General Description
This course explores the intricate dynamics of herbal combinations, focusing on Duì Yaò (herb pairs) as the fundamental building blocks of Chinese medicine formulas. Students will investigate the synergy between substances, transitioning from isolated herb knowledge to understanding how chemical interactions and biological vectors drive clinical efficacy. There is an extensive online component with interactive tools, case studies and other activities and presentation modules.
Academic Prerequisites
Single Herbs
Mastery of the 300 primary herbs, including temperature and channel tropism.
Biochemistry
Fundamental metabolic pathways and the structures of alkaloids and glycosides.
Pharmacology
Understanding of ADME and receptor-level herb-drug synergy.
The Eight Relationships
Exploring the 7 (actually 8) classical interactions between single herbs, ranging from mutual accentuation to incompatibility.
The 38 Essential Pairs
A curated selection of 38 high-yield pairings, filtered from the 100 pairs in the HB Kim Handbook of Oriental Medicine, serving as the primary building blocks for classical formulas (Philippe Sionneau's Duì Yào book features 122 pairs). The focus of this class isn't to be complete but to emphasize basic Duì Yào mechanisms.
Module Breakdown
Biochemistry & PK
Underlying pharmacology and pharmacokinetics: how herb pairs alter absorption, distribution, and metabolism.
Duì Yaò Composer™
Interactive Pair Builder Tool: Construct pairs using the 60 essential single herbs building blocks. Access here. Best on large screens.
Case Studies & Quiz
Applying Duì Yaò logic to real-world clinical scenarios and knowledge self-assessment.