Navigating Traditional Chinese Medicine Network Pharmacology and Computational Tools

TLDR

Network target concepts have ushered a new era in traditional Chinese medicine, with network pharmacology leveraging systems biology and integrated data analysis to reveal mechanisms of herb combinations, formula actions, and TCM syndromes. The study reviews recent advances in TCM network pharmacology and their potential to bridge traditional and modern medicine. The authors outline two main functional applications—understanding/uncovering and predicting/discovering—highlight computational tools such as network‑based and machine‑learning algorithms, and present basic network definitions and analysis methods to facilitate routine use.

Abstract

The concept of "network target" has ushered in a new era in the field of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). As a new research approach, network pharmacology is based on the analysis of network models and systems biology. Taking advantage of advancements in systems biology, a high degree of integration data analysis strategy and interpretable visualization provides deeper insights into the underlying mechanisms of TCM theories, including the principles of herb combination, biological foundations of herb or herbal formulae action, and molecular basis of TCM syndromes. In this study, we review several recent developments in TCM network pharmacology research and discuss their potential for bridging the gap between traditional and modern medicine. We briefly summarize the two main functional applications of TCM network models: understanding/uncovering and predicting/discovering. In particular, we focus on how TCM network pharmacology research is conducted and highlight different computational tools, such as network-based and machine learning algorithms, and sources that have been proposed and applied to the different steps involved in the research process. To make network pharmacology research commonplace, some basic network definitions and analysis methods are presented.