试论“中药基因组学”与“中药化学组学”

“CMM Genomics” and “CMM Chemics”

中药对众多疾病的独特疗效已为人们广泛认可 ,但是由于历史的局限 ,其理论基础很难得到现代社会特别是国际社会公认 ,因此中药现代化势在必行。如何应用现代科学技术 ,给传统中药理论以现代科学理论解释是中药现代化的关键。本文基于现代基因组学特别是功能基因组学、现代分析化学及一些生物高技术手段的研究进展及发展趋势 ,从一个新的视角提出了开展“中药基因组学 (TCMGenomics)”和“中药化学组学 (TCMChemics)”研究的策略。这一研究体系的核心是将中药的作用机理或功能用能代表其功能的一组基因表达的影响来诠释 ;将中药作用的物质基础用能代表其功能的一组化学成分来诠释。本文试图从上述观点出发探讨建立现代中药理论体系和现代中药学的可能性。

It has been widely accepted that Chinese medicinal materials(CMM) have unique therapeutic effects on many diseases. Due to historical limitations, however,the theoretical basis of CMM is hardly acceptable to the modern, especially the international society. Modernization of CMM has thus become a task of necessity. To realize this modernization,the key point is to apply modern science and technology to elucidating the traditional CMM theory. In this paper, a new research strategy of “CMM Genomics” and “CMM Chemics” is proposed on the basis of achievements and advances in the fieldsof HGP, biochip, proteomics, biotechnology and modern analytic techniques. The proposed strategy is dual in nature: on one hand,to elucidate the action or function of CMM with its regulation to a group of genes that represent this action or function; on the other,to elucidate the material basis of action or function of CMM with a group of chemical compounds that represent this action or function. Based on the above mentioned consideration, a discussion has been made on the possibility of establishing a modern theoretical system for CMM as well as a modern science of CMM.