New omic and network paradigms for deep understanding of therapeutic mechanisms for Fangji of traditional Chinese medicine

Duan, Dayue Darrel; Wang, Zhong; Wang, Yongyan

doi:10.1038/aps.2018.42

Cited by 12 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…There is at least one common ingredient for 43% (86) of the top 200 herb pairs, while only 2.08% of randomly generated herb pairs share at least one ingredient (Supplementary Figure 3). Use of common ingredients tends to be a strategy of TCM prescription, as it was found that synergistic effects may be achieved by affecting the same pathways with common or similar compounds 62 17 , which can be explained by the "Jun-Chen-Zuo-Shi" theory in TCM system 63 . For example, the combination of cacalol from plant Cacalia delphinifolia and paclitaxel extracted from the yew trees can significantly suppress tumor growth and overcome chemoresistance 64 .…”

Section: Glycyrrhiza Uralensismentioning

confidence: 99%

Network-based modeling of herb combinations in Traditional Chinese Medicine

Wang

Yang

Chen

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been practiced for thousands of years for treating human diseases. In comparison to modern medicine, one of the advantages of TCM is the principle of herb compatibility, known as TCM formulae. A TCM formula usually consists of multiple herbs to achieve the maximum treatment effects, where their interactions are believed to elicit the therapeutic effects. Despite being a fundamental component of TCM, the rationale of combining specific herb combinations remains unclear. In this study, we proposed a network-based method to quantify the interactions in herb pairs. We constructed a protein-protein interaction network for a given herb pair by retrieving the associated ingredients and protein targets, and determined multiple network-based distances including the closest, shortest, center, kernel, and separation, both at the ingredient and at the target levels. We found that the frequently used herb pairs tend to have shorter distances compared to random herb pairs, suggesting that a therapeutic herb pair is more likely to affect neighboring proteins in the human interactome. Furthermore, we found that the center distance determined at the ingredient level improves the discrimination of top-frequent herb pairs from random herb pairs, suggesting the rationale of considering the topologically important ingredients for inferring the mechanisms of action of TCM. Taken together, we have provided a network pharmacology framework to quantify the degree of herb interactions, which shall help explore the space of herb combinations more effectively to identify the synergistic compound interactions based on network topology.

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Section: Glycyrrhiza Uralensismentioning

confidence: 99%

Network-based modeling of herb combinations in Traditional Chinese Medicine

Wang

Yang

Chen

et al. 2021

Preprint

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“…Fangji is defined as formulae composed of multiple herbs with integrated medical effects, and it is guided by 'Jun Chen Zuo Shi' theory [3]. One TCM formula generally consists of four different kinds of herbal medicine, which is called 'jun' , 'chen' , 'zuo' and 'shi' (Figure 12).…”

Section: Fangjimentioning

confidence: 99%

“…'Zuo' represents the 'soldier' and is applied to treat associated symptoms or reduce toxicity of the 'jun' medicine. 'Shi' represents the 'guide' which can direct other medicines to the diseased organ or contribute to the harmony of all herbs in the formula [3]. For instance, Radix glycyrrhizae (Gan cao 甘草) is the most commonly used 'shi' medicine, since its sweet flavour can improve the taste of formula decoction and enhance the harmony of the combined herbs [78].…”

Section: Fangjimentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These concepts influenced the development of TCM treatments and therapeutic formulae called Fangji. Fangji are composed of multiple herbs with integrated medical effects and are guided by the concepts underpinning TCM [3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In contrast, phytomedicine focuses on identification and isolation of individual chemical components, lacking the characteristics of Fangji in traditional Chinese medicine theory, where herbal formulae are organised using the Jun-Chen-Zuo-Shi system. Combining the pharmacological analysis of multiple biomarkers with chemical fingerprint analysis can help to provide an understanding of how the therapeutic effect of herbal formulae is produced [3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is one of the most established systems of medicine in the world. The therapeutic formulae used in TCM are frequently derived from aqueous decoctions of single plants or complex multicomponent formulae. There are aspects of plant cultivation and preparation of decoction pieces that are unique to TCM. These include Daodi cultivation, which is associated with high quality medicinal plant material that is grown in a defined geographical area, and Paozhi processing where the decoction pieces can be treated with excipients and are processed, which may fundamentally change the nature of the chemical metabolites. Therefore, a single plant part, processed in a variety of different ways, can each create a unique medicine. The quality of TCM materials, their safety and therapeutic efficacy are of critical importance. The application of metabolomic and chemometric techniques to these complex and multicomponent medicines is of interest to understand the interrelationships between composition, synergy and therapeutic activity. In this chapter, we present a short history of TCM, detail the role of Daodi and Paozhi in the generation of therapeutic formulae and look at the international practices and methodologies currently in use to ensure their sustainable production, quality, safety and efficacy.

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In Western medicine, dementia refers to a spectrum of diseases affecting cognition, mental health, and physical abilities. Ancient medical literatures of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) also recorded dementia-like symptoms, but described the disease from a totally distinct theoretical point of view. The earliest records of memory loss in ancient China can be traced back 2000 years earlier. In TCM, dementia can be attributed mainly to the Brain dystrophy, Spleen-Kidney weakness, Blood stasis, and Phlegm stagnation. Of interest, ancient Chinese physicians have proposed that dementia manifests as not only cognitive but also noncognitive symptoms including psychiatric disorders and sleep disturbance, which have been investigated widely nowadays in Western medicine. Various TCM prescriptions, herbal medicines, and acupunctures have also been proposed for dementia prevention and therapy. Some of these strategies are still used in current clinical practice. Reviewing and highlighting the unique TCM recognition of treating dementia may shed light on future dementia research.

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New omic and network paradigms for deep understanding of therapeutic mechanisms for Fangji of traditional Chinese medicine

Cited by 12 publications

References 19 publications

Network-based modeling of herb combinations in Traditional Chinese Medicine

Network-based modeling of herb combinations in Traditional Chinese Medicine

Traditional Chinese Medicine: From Aqueous Extracts to Therapeutic Formulae

Traditional Chinese medicine for dementia

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