中医证本质研究与代谢组学技术：现状与思考

证候一直是中医药研究的核心问题,其中证本质研究是中医药现代化研究中最主要的攻关对象,但证候本身的复杂性使其很难通过现代医学还原论的方法来阐释。新涌现的代谢组学以其整体、动态、重视功能变化等特点,与中医证候对病理状态的表达理念不谋而合,在揭示证候的本质规律方面,代谢组学显示出较强的优势。本文通过对证本质研究与代谢组学技术在证本质研究中应用的现状进行综述和分析,发掘证本质研究与代谢组学技术之间存在的契合性及尚需解决的问题,并对其中关键问题进行思考,提出几点解决建议。

Study of the syndromes of traditional Chinese medicine in terms of metabonomics technology: the current situation and considerations

Syndromes constitute a core aspect in the study of Chinese medicine, and research on the concept of syndromes is important to the study of the process of modernization of traditional Chinese medicine. However, it is somewhat challenging to define a syndrome due to the complexity inherent in the subject, even with the assistance of the reductionism approach of modern medicine. Holistic and dynamic in nature and attaching much importance to functional changes, the newly emerging metabonomics is in many ways inline with the concepts of syndrome differentiation of pathological states in traditional Chinese medicine. Therefore, metabonomics has comparatively strong advantages in the very respect of revealing the natural laws of syndrome differentiation. By reviewing and analyzing the current research on the concept of syndromes and the application of metabonomic technology to exploring the essential core of syndrome differentiation, the authors illustrated the potential commonalities. This would also show the issues requiring attention between the study of syndromes and the metabonomic technology. In the meantime this study reflectd the core problems in detail and put forward suggestions with regard to reaching solutions.