Computer-Aided Drug Design in Research on Chinese Materia Medica: Methods, Applications, Advantages, and Challenges

Chinese materia medica (CMM) refers to the medicinal substances used in traditional Chinese medicine. In recent years, CMM has become globally prevalent, and scientific research on CMM has increasingly garnered attention. Computer-aided drug design (CADD) has been employed in Western medicine resear...

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Main Authors: Ban Chen, Shuangshuang Liu, Huiyin Xia, Xican Li, Yingqing Zhang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-03-01
Series:Pharmaceutics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/17/3/315
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author Ban Chen
Shuangshuang Liu
Huiyin Xia
Xican Li
Yingqing Zhang
author_facet Ban Chen
Shuangshuang Liu
Huiyin Xia
Xican Li
Yingqing Zhang
author_sort Ban Chen
collection DOAJ
description Chinese materia medica (CMM) refers to the medicinal substances used in traditional Chinese medicine. In recent years, CMM has become globally prevalent, and scientific research on CMM has increasingly garnered attention. Computer-aided drug design (CADD) has been employed in Western medicine research for many years, contributing significantly to its progress. However, the role of CADD in CMM research has not been systematically reviewed. This review briefly introduces CADD methods in CMM research from the perspectives of computational chemistry (including quantum chemistry, molecular mechanics, and quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics) and informatics (including cheminformatics, bioinformatics, and data mining). Then, it provides an exhaustive discussion of the applications of these CADD methods in CMM research through rich cases. Finally, the review outlines the advantages and challenges of CADD in CMM research. In conclusion, despite the current challenges, CADD still offers unique advantages over traditional experiments. With the development of the CMM industry and computer science, especially driven by artificial intelligence, CADD is poised to play an increasingly pivotal role in advancing CMM research.
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institution Kabale University
issn 1999-4923
language English
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series Pharmaceutics
spelling doaj-art-1ed3f312bfc84ae3887f11e3b7fef2442025-08-20T03:43:10ZengMDPI AGPharmaceutics1999-49232025-03-0117331510.3390/pharmaceutics17030315Computer-Aided Drug Design in Research on Chinese Materia Medica: Methods, Applications, Advantages, and ChallengesBan Chen0Shuangshuang Liu1Huiyin Xia2Xican Li3Yingqing Zhang4Key Laboratory of Fermentation Engineering (Ministry of Education), Cooperative Innovation Centre of Industrial Fermentation (Ministry of Education & Hubei Province), Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan 430068, ChinaKey Laboratory of Fermentation Engineering (Ministry of Education), Cooperative Innovation Centre of Industrial Fermentation (Ministry of Education & Hubei Province), Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan 430068, ChinaKey Laboratory of Fermentation Engineering (Ministry of Education), Cooperative Innovation Centre of Industrial Fermentation (Ministry of Education & Hubei Province), Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan 430068, ChinaSchool of Chinese Herbal Medicine, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaKey Laboratory of Fermentation Engineering (Ministry of Education), Cooperative Innovation Centre of Industrial Fermentation (Ministry of Education & Hubei Province), Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan 430068, ChinaChinese materia medica (CMM) refers to the medicinal substances used in traditional Chinese medicine. In recent years, CMM has become globally prevalent, and scientific research on CMM has increasingly garnered attention. Computer-aided drug design (CADD) has been employed in Western medicine research for many years, contributing significantly to its progress. However, the role of CADD in CMM research has not been systematically reviewed. This review briefly introduces CADD methods in CMM research from the perspectives of computational chemistry (including quantum chemistry, molecular mechanics, and quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics) and informatics (including cheminformatics, bioinformatics, and data mining). Then, it provides an exhaustive discussion of the applications of these CADD methods in CMM research through rich cases. Finally, the review outlines the advantages and challenges of CADD in CMM research. In conclusion, despite the current challenges, CADD still offers unique advantages over traditional experiments. With the development of the CMM industry and computer science, especially driven by artificial intelligence, CADD is poised to play an increasingly pivotal role in advancing CMM research.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/17/3/315computer-aided techniquescomputational chemistryinformaticsartificial intelligencetraditional Chinese medicine
spellingShingle Ban Chen
Shuangshuang Liu
Huiyin Xia
Xican Li
Yingqing Zhang
Computer-Aided Drug Design in Research on Chinese Materia Medica: Methods, Applications, Advantages, and Challenges
Pharmaceutics
computer-aided techniques
computational chemistry
informatics
artificial intelligence
traditional Chinese medicine
title Computer-Aided Drug Design in Research on Chinese Materia Medica: Methods, Applications, Advantages, and Challenges
title_full Computer-Aided Drug Design in Research on Chinese Materia Medica: Methods, Applications, Advantages, and Challenges
title_fullStr Computer-Aided Drug Design in Research on Chinese Materia Medica: Methods, Applications, Advantages, and Challenges
title_full_unstemmed Computer-Aided Drug Design in Research on Chinese Materia Medica: Methods, Applications, Advantages, and Challenges
title_short Computer-Aided Drug Design in Research on Chinese Materia Medica: Methods, Applications, Advantages, and Challenges
title_sort computer aided drug design in research on chinese materia medica methods applications advantages and challenges
topic computer-aided techniques
computational chemistry
informatics
artificial intelligence
traditional Chinese medicine
url https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/17/3/315
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