Application and prospect of toxicity quality markers of Chinese materia medica based on metabolomics

In view of the problem that the quality evaluation indicators divorced from effectiveness and safety in Chinese materia medica (CMM), Prof. Chang-xiao Liu et al have put forward a concept of quality markers (Q-markers) of CMM, which provided a new thought for improving the CMM quality control method. The toxicity Q-markers of CMM are described as follows, the early toxicity prediction of CMM, the discovery, formation and susceptibility research of toxicity Q-markers of CMM. Metabolomics is a systematic biology approach, closely related to the toxicity phenotype of organism, has unique advantages in toxicity Q-markers research. The toxicity Q-markers of CMM are explained from the following four aspects in this review: 1) the establishment of toxicity prediction model of CMM, which is based on metabolomics, pattern recognition, and other techniques; 2) the discovery of toxicity Q-markers of CMM based on metabolomic, which is meaning that the toxicity Q-markers are interpreted regarding to the chemical composition analysis of CMM, preliminary screening and verification of the toxicity Q-markers and toxicity mechanism research; 3) the research on the formation of toxicity Q-markers based on metabolomics, which is described from biosynthetic pathway analysis and the secondary metabolites analysis of toxicity Q-markers; and 4) the susceptibility study of toxicity Q-markers based on metabolomics, namely, the key targets, and metabolic pathways of toxicity Q-markers are explained according to the target organ toxicity susceptibility caused by CMM, and then the toxicity susceptibility mechanism of CMM is clarified. Therefore, the application of metabolomics helps to systematically and comprehensively discover the quality control indicators related to the CMM safety, which further provides a rational evidence for the clinical application of toxicity of CMM.