Research progress and prospect on the effective material basis and related mechanism of Traditional Chinese Medicine driven by systematic thinking

Abstract

Traditional Chinese medicine is the treasure of Chinese traditional culture. A series of questions should be answered on the base of systematic, comprehensive and in-depth research according to the TCM theory and its own characteristics. For example, how to construct a research framework with clear guidance and route, as well as reasonable plan for elucidating the effective material basis of Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formula? How to discover and excavate the effective material basis of TCM, clarify and interpret the related action mechanism? How to clarify the reasonableness of compatibility, the scientificity for usage of medication, as well as the scientific connotation of TCM in preventing and curing disease? Aforementioned questions had been considered as the important frontier scientific problems to be solved in the field of TCM. According to the practice progress and thinking on research of effective material basis and related mechanism in Naomaitong Granule and Dengzhan Shengmai Capsule, a systematic strategy from the perspective of interaction between drug system, intestinal microecosystem and host living system had been proposed and elucidated in three aspects: (1) Discovering the TCM regulated genes and proteins dated from functional metabolites, in order to characterize the biological response of host systematically. (2) Deciphering the effective material basis and related acting mechanism on the base of interaction between TCM formula and intestinal microecosystem. (3) The systematic characterization of material basis of TCM formula by Chemomics.