Elemental traditional Chinese medicine: An emerging interdisciplinary field

Trace elements in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) constitute a fundamental material basis underlying its pharmacological effects. Although present in extremely low concentrations, these elements are indispensable for maintaining physiological homeostasis and human health. Elemental traditional Chinese medicine (ETCM) integrates TCM theory with elemental medicine, coordination chemistry, systems biology, and other interdisciplinary fields. The core objective of ETCM is to elucidate the material basis and mechanism of action of TCM at the elemental level. ETCM demonstrates that the specific speciation, concentrations, and combinations of elements are critical determinants of pharmacological efficacy, while also revealing the mechanistic associations between elemental homeostasis and disease pathogenesis. Furthermore, ETCM promotes the transition of TCM research from conventional static analyses of elemental content toward dynamic investigations of elemental speciation, bioavailability, metabolic interactions, and systemic biological networks. This approach provides a new perspective for elucidating the material basis of pharmacological efficacy and offers novel pathways for the development of metallopharmaceuticals and the modernization of TCM.