TCMSID: a simplified integrated database for drug discovery from traditional chinese medicine.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been widely used in the treatment of various diseases for millennia. In the modernization process of TCM, TCM ingredient databases are playing more and more important roles. However, most of the existing TCM ingredient databases do not provide simplification function for extracting key ingredients in each herb or formula, which hinders the research on the mechanism of actions of the ingredients in TCM databases. The lack of quality control and standardization of the data in most of these existing databases is also a prominent disadvantage. Therefore, we developed a Traditional Chinese Medicine Simplified Integrated Database (TCMSID) with high storage, high quality and standardization. The database includes 499 herbs registered in the Chinese pharmacopeia with 20,015 ingredients, 3270 targets as well as corresponding detailed information. TCMSID is not only a database of herbal ingredients, but also a TCM simplification platform. Key ingredients from TCM herbs are available to be screened out and regarded as representatives to explore the mechanism of TCM herbs by implementing multi-tool target prediction and multilevel network construction. TCMSID provides abundant data sources and analysis platforms for TCM simplification and drug discovery, which is expected to promote modernization and internationalization of TCM and enhance its international status in the future. TCMSID is freely available at https://tcm.scbdd.com .

Challenges in Developing Analytically Validated Laboratory-Derived Dietary Supplement Databases.

The Dietary Supplement Label Database (DSLD) is sponsored by the Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) and the National Library of Medicine (NLM). It provides a searchable, free database of the contents of ∼65,000 supplement labels. A companion database of analytically verified product labels [the Dietary Supplement Ingredient Database (DSID)] was created by ODS, NLM, and the USDA. There are considerable challenges to populating both databases, but the DSID faces unique analytic chemistry challenges. This article describes the challenges to creating analytically verified marketplace surveys of dietary supplement (DS) product content claims for inclusion in public databases. Nutritionists and public health scientists require information on actual exposures to DS constituents because labeled content may not match labeled product content. Analytic verification of composition of DSs provides a link to actual exposure. A public database of analytically derived DS content was developed to provide more accurate estimates of dietary intake in population-based epidemiologic studies. The DSID has conducted surveys of several types of vitamin- and mineral-containing DSs. Results showing label content claims as analytically derived values are available in the current DSID. A recent pilot project explored the feasibility of adding botanical DS products to the DSID. Candidates for future botanical DSID studies will be based on sales volume, potential public health impacts, and the availability of validated analytic methods and reference materials. Databases like DSID and the DSLD are essential for researchers and clinicians to evaluate dietary ingredient intakes in population-based epidemiologic studies. Together, these databases provide a picture of the DS marketplace. The DSID provides an analytic survey of marketed DSs. However, selection of future botanical supplements for DSID evaluation involves analytic challenges. Even when appropriate resources are available, method selection and data evaluation are resource- and time-consuming.

Progress in developing analytical and label-based dietary supplement databases at the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements.

Although an estimated 50% of adults in the United States consume dietary supplements, analytically substantiated data on their bioactive constituents are sparse. Several programs funded by the Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) at the National Institutes of Health enhance dietary supplement database development and help to better describe the quantitative and qualitative contributions of dietary supplements to total dietary intakes. ODS, in collaboration with the United States Department of Agriculture, is developing a Dietary Supplement Ingredient Database (DSID) verified by chemical analysis. The products chosen initially for analytical verification are adult multivitamin-mineral supplements (MVMs). These products are widely used, analytical methods are available for determining key constituents, and a certified reference material is in development. Also MVMs have no standard scientific, regulatory, or marketplace definitions and have widely varying compositions, characteristics, and bioavailability. Furthermore, the extent to which actual amounts of vitamins and minerals in a product deviate from label values is not known. Ultimately, DSID will prove useful to professionals in permitting more accurate estimation of the contribution of dietary supplements to total dietary intakes of nutrients and better evaluation of the role of dietary supplements in promoting health and well-being. ODS is also collaborating with the National Center for Health Statistics to enhance the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey dietary supplement label database. The newest ODS effort explores the feasibility and practicality of developing a database of all dietary supplement labels marketed in the US. This article describes these and supporting projects.