New Perspectives on Specific Immune-Depletion Technique Using Monoclonal Antibodies against Small Active Molecules in Herbs

One of the main focuses in Chinese Medicine research is the identification of efficacious components in Chinese herbal medicine (CHM). Studies in such area are difficult due to the complexity and the synergistic characteristics of CHM. Current methods to track and separate active components are not adequate to meet the needs of revealing effects and identify substances and pharmacological mechanisms, which directly restrict the modernization and globalization of CHM. In this paper, a new methodology to deplete a single active component via immunoassay was introduced. The specific active component in a CHM mixture can then be identified and studied through comparative analyses of the pharmacological effects before and after immune depletion. With this new methodology, degree of contribution of a particular component to the whole complex herbal mixture can be elucidated, and its synergistic property with other components can be determined. The new method can reflect not only the overall combined pharmacological effects of CHM but also the effect of individual component. It is an effective way to explain the degree of contribution of one specific component to the overall activity of a CHM prescription.