Network pharmacology, a promising approach to reveal the pharmacology mechanism of Chinese medicine formula

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Network pharmacology is a new discipline based on systems biology theory, biological system network analysis, and multi-target drug molecule design specific signal node selection. The mechanism of action of TCM formula has the characteristics of multiple targets and levels. The mechanism is similar to the integrity, systematization and comprehensiveness of network pharmacology, so network phar-macology is suitable for the study of the pharmacological mechanism of Chinese medicine compounds.Aim of the study: The paper summarizes the present application status and existing problems of network phar-macology in the field of Chinese medicine formula, and formulates the research ideas, up-to-date key technology and application method and strategy of network pharmacology. Its purpose is to provide guidance and reference for using network pharmacology to reveal the modern scientific connotation of Chinese medicine.Materials and methods: Literatures in this review were searched in PubMed, China National Knowledge Infra-structure (CNKI), Web of Science, ScienceDirect and Google Scholar using the keywords traditional Chinese medicine, Chinese herb medicine and network pharmacology. The literature cited in this review dates from 2002 to 2022.Results: Using network pharmacology methods to predict the basis and mechanism of pharmacodynamic sub-stances of traditional Chinese medicines has become a trend. Conclusion: Network pharmacology is a promising approach to reveal the pharmacology mechanism of Chinese medicine formula.

Automated summary

Network pharmacology is a new discipline that combines systems biology theory, biological system network analysis, and multi-target drug molecule design for studying the pharmacological mechanism of Chinese medicine compounds. This paper summarizes the application status and existing problems of network pharmacology in the field of Chinese medicine formula, and proposes research ideas, up-to-date key technology, and application methods and strategies. It aims to provide guidance and reference for revealing the modern scientific connotation of Chinese medicine using network pharmacology.