Systems pharmacology for traditional Chinese medicine with application to cardio-cerebrovascular diseases

Identified as a treasure of natural herbal products, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has attracted extensive attention for their moderate treatment effect and lower side effect. Cardio-cerebrovascular diseases (CCVD) are a leading cause of death. TCM is used in China to prevent and treat CCVD. However, the complexity of TCM poses challenges in understanding the mechanisms of herbs at a systems-level, thus hampering the modernization and globalization of TCM. A novel model, termed traditional Chinese medicine systems pharmacology (TCMSP) analysis platform, which relies on the theory of systems pharmacology and integrates absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion and toxicity (ADME/T) evaluation, target prediction and network/pathway analysis, was proposed to address these problems. Here, we review the development of systems pharmacology, the TCMSP approach and its applications in the investigations of CCVD and compare it with other methods. TCMSP assists in uncovering the mechanisms of action of herbal formulas used in treating CCVD. It can also be applied in ascertaining the different syndrome patterns of coronary artery disease, decoding the multi-scale mechanisms of herbs, and in understanding the mechanisms of herbal synergism.