Metabolomics as a promising technology for investigating external therapy of traditional Chinese medicine: A review

Yang X, He M, Tang Q, Cao J, Wei Z, Li T, Sun M · Medicine · 2024 November 29

Objective

To investigate the use of metabolomics as a measurement tool for determining the efficacy and molecular mechanisms of traditional Chinese medicine external therapies, including acupuncture and moxibustion.

Conclusions

Metabolomics has considerable potential for comprehending traditional Chinese medicine external treatment interventions from a systems perspective and for linking their biological mechanisms with systematic therapeutic effects.

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Insights

Metabolomics can reveal how acupuncture and related traditional Chinese medicine therapies produce whole-body metabolic effects across diverse diseases.

The paper reviewed human and animal studies published over the past decade that used metabolomics to assess external traditional Chinese medicine therapies, including acupuncture and moxibustion. It examined metabolic changes following stimulation of a specific acupuncture point and evaluated studies investigating therapeutic mechanisms in digestive, cardiovascular, neurological, bone, and muscle fatigue conditions. The review found that metabolomics can characterize metabolic disturbances and responses associated with acupuncture point stimulation and external traditional Chinese medicine treatments. By connecting molecular-level biological changes with broader systemic effects, this approach offers a framework for explaining how these therapies may influence health and disease.