Application of systems biology method in the research of traditional Chinese medicine

Systems biology is a new science of the 21st century, which resembles traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in many aspects such as study method and design. Adoption of systems biology approach would do much help for exploring the scientific connotation of TCM syndrome and the modernization of Chinese herbal medicine. Its technological platforms, such as genomics, proteomics and metabonomics, provide powerful tools for the study of the essence of TCM syndrome and the function of herbal compound recipe. Compared with other molecular biological methods, such as genomics and proteomics, metabonomics method is more direct and more concise, especially for providing an effective method for the study of TCM therapy in preventing and treating kidney diseases.