代谢组学是系统生物学的关键技术和研究方法,在方法学上具有融整体、动态、综合、分析于一体的特点,符合中医治疗疾病和中药作用的整体性原则。中医病证引起代谢物组的共性分析和生物标记物的发现,可促进“证”本质的研究和中医辨证的科学化和定量化,深层次理解中医脏象理论,预测疾病的发生,反应肠道内生态环境状况以及整体性评价中药及复方综合疗效、安全性和作用机制。中药体内代谢物组的分析,可促进中药效应物质基础的阐明,建立科学的中药质量控制方法,确保临床中药产品的安全、有效。代谢组学和中医药学的有效组合,一定能进一步加快中医药学研究的现代化进程。

Traditional Chinese Medicine （TCM）,developed and refined over thousands of years through Chinese wisdom for disease prevention and treatment,is one of the greatest legacies of mankind.Making TCM part of the international medi- cal care system,and promoting the modernization of TCM research is a sacred mission and responsibility of Chinese re- searchers in current generations.Metabonomics constitutes a key part of system biology,and is a key biotechnology that can used to study TCM.Metabonomics mainly deals with end-metabolites,and biomarkers,which is fully in line with the approaches used in TCM research.Discovering biomarkers,and qualitative and quantitative analysis of metabolites facilitates the study of TCM system,allowing a quantitative and scientific understanding of the TCM theory.It also helps to predict and discriminate diseases,improving people's understanding of intestinal microflora ecology,in an attempt to achieve a sound evaluation of clinical efficacy,and safety and mechanisms of TCM.The study creates a material basis for medicinal effectiveness,and a scientific approach for quality control.The combination of metabonomics and TCM, will doubtlessly accelerate the modernization process of TCM.