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Metabolomics in the context of systems biology: bridging traditional Chinese medicine and molecular pharmacology
Author(s) -
Wang Mei,
Lamers RobertJan A. N.,
Korthout Henrie A. A. J.,
van Nesselrooij Joop H. J.,
Witkamp Renger F.,
van der Heijden Rob,
Voshol Peter J.,
Havekes Louis M.,
Verpoorte Rob,
van der Greef Jan
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
phytotherapy research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.019
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1099-1573
pISSN - 0951-418X
DOI - 10.1002/ptr.1624
Subject(s) - systems biology , reductionism , systems pharmacology , context (archaeology) , computational biology , metabolomics , natural product , traditional chinese medicine , biology , traditional medicine , data science , engineering ethics , pharmacology , computer science , medicine , bioinformatics , alternative medicine , drug , epistemology , engineering , biochemistry , philosophy , paleontology , pathology
Abstract The introduction of the concept of systems biology, enabling the study of living systems from a holistic perspective based on the profiling of a multitude of biochemical components, opens up a unique and novel opportunity to reinvestigate natural products. In the study of their bioactivity, the necessary reductionistic approach on single active components has been successful in the discovery of new medicines, but at the same time the synergetic effects of components were lost. Systems biology, and especially metabolomics, is the ultimate phenotyping. It opens up the possibility of studying the effect of complex mixtures, such as those used in Traditional Chinese Medicine, in complex biological systems; abridging it with molecular pharmacology. This approach is considered to have the potential to revolutionize natural product research and to advance the development of scientific based herbal medicine. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.