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Open Access 01-12-2018 | Review

Systems biology approaches in the study of Chinese herbal formulae

Authors: Fei-Fei Cai, Wen-Jun Zhou, Rong Wu, Shi-Bing Su

Published in: Chinese Medicine | Issue 1/2018

Abstract

Systems biology is an academic field that attempts to integrate different levels of information to understand how biological systems function. It is the study of the composition of all components of a biological system and their interactions under specific conditions. The core of systems biology is holistic and systematic research, which is different from the manner of thinking and research of all other branches of biology to date. Chinese herbal formulae (CHF) are the main form of Chinese medicine and are composed of single Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs) with pharmacological and pharmacodynamic compatibility. When single CHMs are combined into CHF, the result is different from the original effect of a single drug and can be better adapted to more diseases with complex symptoms. CHF represent a complex system with multiple components, targets and effects. Therefore, the use of systems biology is conducive to revealing the complex characteristics of CHF. With the rapid development of omics technologies, systems biology has been widely and increasingly applied to the study of the basis of the pharmacological substances, action targets and mechanisms of CHF. To meet the challenges of multiomics synthesis-intensive studies and system dynamics research in CHF, this paper reviews the common techniques of genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and metagenomics and their applications in research on CHF.

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Title: Systems biology approaches in the study of Chinese herbal formulae
Authors: Fei-Fei Cai
Wen-Jun Zhou
Rong Wu
Shi-Bing Su
Publication date: 01-12-2018
Publisher: BioMed Central
Published in: Chinese Medicine / Issue 1/2018
Electronic ISSN: 1749-8546
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13020-018-0221-x

At a glance: The STEP trials

Springer Medicine

Systems biology approaches in the study of Chinese herbal formulae

Abstract

At a glance: The STEP trials

Springer Medicine

Abstract

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