Tongue color changes within a menstrual cycle in eumenorrheic women

10.1016/j.jtcme.2015.07.004

Shu-Feng Hsieh；Li-Ling Shen；Shan-Yu Su

Tongue inspection ； RGB model ； CMYK model ； Lab model ； HSB model ； Menstrual cycle

Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine

6卷3期（2016 / 07 / 01）

269 - 274

英文

Tongue color (舌色shé sè) has been used to diagnose abnormal body conditions for thousands of years in traditional Chinese Medicine (中醫zhōng yī). However, it is not clear whether tongue color alters with physiological changes within a normal menstrual cycle (月經周期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 (舌診shé zhěn) or performing clinical studies among childbearing women.

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