丛斌院士提出：药食同源是指具有药效功能与营养功能并共生于一体的天然物质

Food & Medicine Homology 期刊联合主编丛斌院士在FMH 发表观点性文章，首次科学地阐明了“药食同源”的定义，并对期刊发展提出更高的要求，希望FMH能够促进我国博大精深的药食同源理念在全世界范围广泛传播，建立药食同源物质标准，服务于人类健康，成为一个推动健康产业发展、中医药文化传承，以及科技和产业界交流的重要平台。

药食同源的理念源自于古代中医养生理论，强调食物和药物之间的相互关联，以食补药，以药补食，从而达到出促进身体健康和长寿的目的。其理论的形成是一个漫长的过程，早在《黄帝内经》《金匮要略》等典籍中均体现了中医食疗养生和药食同源的思想。经过长期的饮食积累和发展，某些“食物”不但可以充饥，而且具备了养生、健康、预防、治病的诸多功能，把具备此功能的食物定义为药食同源的食物。

但药物是用来预防、治疗疾病，或者能有目的地调节人的生理功能的物质；食品是指可供人类食用或饮用的物质，能够补充人体需要的能量和营养，而不能用治疗疾病。如何界定具有现代科学内涵的药食同源物质，是必须要理清的科学问题。丛斌院士提出：药食同源物质是指兼具药效物质与营养物质功能共生于一体的天然物质，且其中药效物质对机体应不具有毒性作用，可长期食用。

Food & Medicine Homology 期刊定位医学、生命科学、药学、食品科学和营养学交叉融合，聚焦探明药食同源药效物质和营养物质健康效应的科学机理，为开发兼具营养、保健、治疗功能的健康产品提供理论基础。这本英文期刊的创办，旨在以前沿科学研究引领学科发展，将我国博大精深的药食同源理念在全世界范围广泛传播，基于该理念，促进建立药食同源物质标准，服务于人类健康，推动健康产业发展、中医药文化传承，将为科技和产业界提供重要交流平台。

The concept of “Food and Medicine Homology” originated from the theory of ancient Traditional Chinese Medical (TCM), which emphasizes the close association and interconnection between food and medicine, i.e. food as the supplement of medicine and vice versa to achieve health and longevity of human beings. The establishment of this theory has been a prolonged process. The ideas of TCM-based food health promotion and therapy,  and food and medicine homology have been recorded as early as the “Huang Di Nei Jing” “Jin Kui Yao Lue” and other acient medicinal books. After long-term research and development of diet and human health, accumulation of myriad data have demonstrated that  some “foods” can not only satisfy satiety, but also possess various biological functions such as health preservation, wellness promotion, disease prevention and even treatment. As such, Foods with this function is defined as “food and medicine homology”.

However, medicines are substances used to prevent, treat diseases, or to purposefully regulate physiological functions. Foods refer to substances that can be consumed by humans to supply energy and nutrition needed by the body, but they cannot be used to treat diseases. How to define substances with modern scientific connotations of “food and medicine homology” is a scientific problem that must be clarified. Professor Bin Cong, an Academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering Member, proposed the definition of “food and medicine homology” i.e. a substance which integrates pharmacological and nutritional functions into one entity, among which the medicinal components should have no detrimental effects on the body and also can be consumed for a long time.

The journal of Food & Medicine Homology (FMH) is dedicated to the integration of medicine, life science, pharmacy, food science and nutrition, focusing on the scientific mechanisms of pharmacological substances and disease-preventing nutrients in “food and medicine homology”. It provides theoretical basis for the development of products with nutritional, health-promoting, therapeutical and medicinal functions. The establishment of the journal aims to promote and lead the development of disciplines with cutting-edge scientific research, and advocate the profound and comprehensive concept of “medicine and food homology” in China and the world. Based on this concept, FMH will be the important communication platform for science, biotechnology and functional food industry to promote and establish standards for biofunctional substances in “food and medicine homology”, protect human health, advance the development of the healthy food related industry, and contribute to the preservation of TCM culture.