Comprehensive theoretical analysis of Kampo medication system by informatics and metabolome analysis

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25860085
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Natural medicines
• Research Institution: Tokushima Bunri University
• Principal Investigator: Okada Taketo 徳島文理大学, 薬学部, 助教 (60412392)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 漢方薬 / 生薬 / メタボローム / 情報科学 / 多変量解析

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Kampo is a traditional and empirical medicine of Japan derived from traditional Chinese medicine. Kampo medicines are formulated as combinations of crude drugs, and are prescribed based on a Kampo-specific diagnosis ‘Sho’, which is defined as the holistic condition of each patient. The medication system, however, is complex and not well understood from a modern scientific perspective. We elucidated the informatics framework of Kampo medication by multivariate factor analysis of the elements constituting Kampo, namely, Sho of Deficiency/Excess (patient constitutions), combination patterns of crude drugs, and metabolomes of prescriptions. As a result, principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares projection to latent structures (PLS) modeling enabled interpretation of the complex system of Kampo medication. This study will form the basis for establishing a theoretical traditional system of medication leading to the ultimate personalized medicine.

Free Research Field

（１）漢方, 伝統医学, 和漢薬・生薬, 薬用植物を対象とした実験情報科学　（２）システム医薬学