Hsieh Shu-Feng, Shen Li-Ling, Su Shan-Yu
Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Kaohsiung 81362, Taiwan.
Department of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung 40447, Taiwan.
J Tradit Complement Med. 2015 Aug 20;6(3):269-74. doi: 10.1016/j.jtcme.2015.07.004. eCollection 2016 Jul.
Tongue color ( shé sè) has been used to diagnose abnormal body conditions for thousands of years in traditional Chinese Medicine ( zhōng yī). However, it is not clear whether tongue color alters with physiological changes within a normal menstrual cycle ( yuè jīng zhōu qī). This study investigated difference in tongue color between the follicular phase and luteal phase in eumenorrheic women. Tongue surface photographs were taken in the follicular phase and the luteal phase of thirty-two volunteers with biphasic basal body temperature. Color values on five areas of the tongue surface were examined and comparisons of color values were made between the two phases according to the red-green-blue (RGB), hue-saturation-brightness (HSB), luminance-a-b (Lab), and cyan-magenta-yellow-black (CMYK) models. Based on the RGB model, the values of green and blue in the tip area were larger in the follicular phase than both in the luteal phase. The values of magenta and yellow based in the CMYK model were smaller in the tip area in the follicular phase than that in the luteal phase. The saturation in the tip area was smaller in the follicular phase than that in the luteal phase. Based on the Lab model, b value in the middle area was smaller in the follicular phase than that in the luteal phase. The data revealed that tongue color varied within a eumenorrheic menstrual cycle, suggesting that tongue color differences between the follicular and luteal phases need to be considered while practicing tongue diagnosis ( shé zhěn) or performing clinical studies among childbearing women.
在中医中，舌色（舌色）已被用于诊断身体异常状况数千年。然而，尚不清楚在正常月经周期（月经周期）内舌色是否会随着生理变化而改变。本研究调查了月经正常的女性在卵泡期和黄体期之间的舌色差异。对32名基础体温呈双相的志愿者在卵泡期和黄体期拍摄舌面照片。检查舌面五个区域的颜色值，并根据红-绿-蓝（RGB）、色相-饱和度-亮度（HSB）、亮度-a-b（Lab）和青-品红-黄-黑（CMYK）模型对两个阶段的颜色值进行比较。基于RGB模型，卵泡期舌尖区域的绿色和蓝色值均大于黄体期。基于CMYK模型，卵泡期舌尖区域的品红色和黄色值小于黄体期。卵泡期舌尖区域的饱和度小于黄体期。基于Lab模型，卵泡期中段区域的b值小于黄体期。数据显示，月经正常的月经周期内舌色会发生变化，这表明在进行舌诊（舌诊）或对育龄妇女进行临床研究时，需要考虑卵泡期和黄体期之间的舌色差异。
