Application of Proteomics in the Study of Toxicology and Toxic Markers of Traditional Chinese Medicines

Abstract

Proteomics is an omics emerging after genomics and transcriptomics, which plays a vital role in the fields of drug metabolism, pharmacotoxicology, toxicology, toxicodynamics, safety evaluation, and clinical medication. It provides a powerful tool for toxicity evaluation of TCM and its components, by systematically revealing toxicity mechanisms, identifying toxic biomarkers, and supporting toxicity prediction. This technology, by providing dynamic and functional information at the protein level, reveals key enzyme activities in drug metabolism and individual differences, identifies early toxicological markers and mechanisms, enhances safety evaluation comprehensiveness, and promotes clinical medication precision. This paper reviewed the application of proteomics in the research of toxicological mechanisms, toxicity biomarkers, and toxicity prediction of TCM to provide a reference for the study of toxicology and toxicity markers of TCM. In the future, proteomics will develop toward higher resolution, combine with artificial intelligence (AI) for deep data mining, and enhance multiomics data integration, enabling breakthroughs in dynamic disease monitoring, precise toxicity prediction, target discovery, and individualized diagnosis.