[Application progress of metabonomics in mechanism analysis, quality control and toxicity studies of traditional Chinese medicine].

Abstract

Traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) has a long history and well-established therapeutic efficacy. However, its complex composition, unclear active ingredients, incompletely elucidated targets and mechanisms, reliance on single-component indicators in current quality evaluation, and existing safety concerns pose challenges to quality control in terms of standardization, traceability, and scientific evidence. As an important branch of systems biology, metabolomics enables dynamic analysis of global changes in endogenous metabolites at the molecular level, providing a powerful approach to address these issues. In recent years, metabolomics has facilitated the elucidation of multi-target synergistic effects of TCM, comprehensive quality evaluation of medicinal materials, and early warning of drug-induced toxicity through the detection of metabolic pathways and biomarkers, the construction of metabolic fingerprints, and the identification of early metabolic abnormalities. Therefore, this paper systematically reviewed the application of metabolomics in mechanism analysis, quality control, and toxicity studies of TCM, aiming to provide a reference for the scientific evaluation and modernization of TCM.