Effective Components-Targets-Mechanism-Chinese Prescription Strategy (ETMC), A New Strategy for Chinese Prescription Development: A Case Study in Danlou Tablet

Abstract

Background: Chinese prescription is a combination medicine used by Chinese medical workers to treat various diseases and has saved countless human lives. By studying the effective substances, therapeutic targets, and mechanism of Chinese prescription, Western researchers can better understand the great value of Chinese prescription. Methods: In this study, a new strategy was proposed for the development of Chinese prescription: the effective components (E)-targets (T)-mechanism (M)-Chinese prescription (C) strategy, namely the ETMC strategy. Results: The proposed strategy used the chemical compositions of the Chinese prescription as the source of ligands to predict the corresponding targets for discovering the mechanism of Chinese prescription, which was helpful to further screen out effective substances from the chemical compositions of Chinese prescription. Here an example on development of Danlou tablet was performed to introduce the application of ETMC. Conclusions: A novel strategy for Chinese prescription development, ETMC, along with its application was provided in the current study, which contributed to the further development, wider application and internationalization of Chinese prescription.