DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-812744-5.00001-1

Summary
One of the key tasks in the strategy to modernize traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is efficient methodology development. Based on systems biology and network biology, we proposed a methodology for the study of TCM compound prescriptions that combines the theory of TCM with modern biological techniques. The methodology involves both theories of reductionism and holism at both the macroscopic and microscopic levels, for in vivo and in vitro analyses. The proposed methodology is composed of four research platforms: chemical, pharmacology, systems biology and network biology. The proposed methodology provides a powerful tool to modernize the study of TCM compound prescriptions, which may be important to fully reveal the essential principals of TCM, and to promote new drug discovery based on TCM formulae as well as the dissemination and further development of TCM theory.

Relevance for Complex Systems Knowledge
Oriental medicine and therapies have a traditional holistic approach in the interaction between molecules and living systems. For this reason, a classical western reductionistic study is often inadequate for a modern elucidation of the mechanism that are on the basis of these traditional medicines. In this chapter the authors envisioned a combination of reductionistic and holistic approaches combined at micro and macro level based on four research platform to explore the space of the complex system: 1) the therapeutic material from TCM [starting from the medicinal materials, their chemiomics, the chemical composition in vivo, the individuation of the active compounds and the development of multicomponent combinatorial TCM]; 2) Modern Pharmacology [moving from molecular to cellular and subcellular, tissue, organs and animals]; 3) Systems biology [Genomics, Proteomics, Metabonomics, Epigenomics, Metagenomics] 4) Network biology [bioinformatic also for the construction of diseases related and drugs activity related networks]

Point of Strength
Top-down approaches (holistic) and down-top (reductionist) approaches like any one-sided methodology alone are inadequate to explore the interaction of a chemically complex system with a network of interconnected equilibria. In this specific case the authors affirm that “only through their efficient combination can it be possible to uncover the underlying regulatory mechanisms responsible for the physiological effects of TCM formulae”. As general approach this can be extended in several other fields characterized by evolving complex systems.