College of Food and Bioengineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China.
Br J Pharmacol. 2009 Aug;157(7):1128-41. doi: 10.1111/j.1476-5381.2009.00257.x. Epub 2009 Jun 5.
In the recent years, a wide range of metabonomic analytical techniques are widely used in the modern research of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). At the same time, the international community has attached increasing importance to TCM toxicity problems. Thus, many studies have been implemented to investigate the toxicity mechanisms of TCM. Among these studies, many metabonomic-based methods have been implemented to facilitate TCM toxicity investigation. At present, the most prevailing methods for TCM toxicity research are mainly single analysis techniques using only one analytical means. These techniques include nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), etc.; with these techniques, some favourable outcomes have been gained in the toxic reaction studies of TCM, such as the action target organs assay, the establishment of action pattern, the elucidation of action mechanism and the exploration of action material foundation. However, every analytical technique has its advantages and drawbacks, no existing analytical technique can be versatile. Multi-analysed techniques can partially overcome the shortcomings of single-analysed techniques. Combination of GC-MS and LC-MS metabolic profiling approaches has unravelled the pathological outcomes of aristolochic acid-induced nephrotoxicity, which can not be achieved by single-analysed techniques. It is believed that with the further development of metabonomic analytical techniques, especially multi-analysed techniques, metabonomics will greatly promote TCM toxicity research and be beneficial to the modernization of TCM in terms of extending the application of modern means in the TCM safety assessment, assisting the formulation of TCM safety norms and establishing the international standards indicators.
近年来，广泛的代谢组学分析技术广泛应用于中药（TCM）的现代研究中。同时，国际社会也越来越重视 TCM 毒性问题。因此，许多研究已经实施来探讨 TCM 的毒性机制。在这些研究中，许多基于代谢组学的方法已被用于促进 TCM 毒性研究。目前，TCM 毒性研究的最流行方法主要是使用单一分析方法的单一分析技术。这些技术包括核磁共振（NMR）、气相色谱-质谱联用（GC-MS）和液相色谱-质谱联用（LC-MS）等；使用这些技术，在 TCM 的毒性反应研究中取得了一些有利的结果，如作用靶器官测定、作用模式建立、作用机制阐明和作用物质基础探索。然而，每种分析技术都有其优点和缺点，没有一种现有的分析技术可以是通用的。多分析技术可以部分克服单一分析技术的缺点。GC-MS 和 LC-MS 代谢组学分析方法的结合揭示了马兜铃酸诱导的肾毒性的病理结果，这是单一分析技术无法实现的。相信随着代谢组学分析技术的进一步发展，特别是多分析技术的发展，代谢组学将极大地促进 TCM 毒性研究，有利于 TCM 的现代化，即在 TCM 安全性评估中扩展现代手段的应用，协助制定 TCM 安全规范和建立国际标准指标。
