Application of Systems Biology in Traditional Chinese Medicine Research

Systems biology is a new research field in biology that aims at system-level understanding of biological systems. Based on the remarkable progress of molecular biology, systems biology focuses to expatiate life phenomenon by investigating the inner link of systems. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) applies a holistical approach in the treatment of diseases. Theoretically, there are many common ground between TCM and systems biology. Therefore, application of the systems biological method in the TCM research may pave way for the development of new field. In this article, the current application and the prospect of systems biology in TCM research is introduced.