Metabolomics: A new omics technology for traditional herbal medicine analysis

Identification of a small number of bioactive components in herbal medicines is often inadequate for elucidating biological effects and for quality control because of the complexity of the components. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of all the components in herbal medicines will therefore be of considerable value. Metabolomics is a new branch of "omics" science concerned with understanding the all the metabolites in living systems. Recent advances in the development of analytical technologies in metabolomics have made a considerable contribution to various studies of herbal medicines. In particular, mass spectrometry (MS) combined with separation systems have enabled us to simul-taneously obtain datasets for dozens or hundreds of molecules. MS-based non-targeted profiling techniques provide plentiful information about known bioactive components as well as all observable components. Here, we provide an overview of the metabolomic analysis of herbal medicines. Prospects for further research based on our primary results are also discussed.