Orthogonal Stimulus-Response as a Tool to Formulate Traditional Chinese Medicinal Herbal Combination

Objectives There is an increasing number of complex diseases that are progressively more difficult to be controlled using the conventional "single compound, single target" approach as demonstrated in our current modern drug development. TCM might be the new cornerstone of treatment alternative when the current treatment option is no longer as effective or that we have exhausted it as an option. Orthogonal stimulus-response compatibility group study is one of the most frequently employed formulas to produce optimal herbal combination for treatment of multi-syndromic diseases. This approach could solve the relatively low efficacy single drug therapy usage and chronic adverse effects caused by long terms administration of drugs that has been reported in the field of pharmacology and medicine. Methods The present review was based on the Science Direct database search for those related to the TCM and the development of antihypertensive TCM herbal combination using orthogonal stimulus-response compatibility group studies approach. Results Recent studies have demonstrated that the orthogonal stimulus-response compatibility group study approach was most frequently used to formulate TCM herbal combination based on the TCM principles upon the selection of herbs, and the resulting formulated TCM formula exhibited desired outcomes in treating one of global concerned complex multi-syndromic diseases, the hypertension. These promising therapeutic effects were claimed to have been attributed by the holistic signaling mechanism pathways employed by the crude combination of herbs. Conclusion The present review could serve as a guide and prove the feasibility of TCM principles to be used for future pharmacological drug research development.