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Potentiating therapeutic effects by enhancing synergism based on active constituents from traditional medicine

Aihua Zhang1, Hui Sun, Xijun Wang

  • 1National TCM Key Lab of Serum Pharmacochemistry, Key Lab of Chinmedomics, Key Pharmacometabolomics Platform of Chinese Medicines, Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Heping Road 24, Harbin, 150040, China.

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Combined Effects of Drugs: Synergism

Synergism is a useful mechanism where combining two or more drugs is more effective than each constituent used alone. Such combinations are also called supra-additive interactions. The drugs collectively enhance the final therapeutic effect by acting on different targets. Another advantage is that the low dose of each constituent drug is sufficient to achieve the desired effect. This helps reduce the duration of therapy and lower the adverse effects of these drugs.
Such synergistic combinations...
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Principles of Drug Action

Drugs are chemical substances that modify biological responses by interacting with macromolecular targets such as receptors, ion channels, transporters, and enzymes. Pharmacodynamics describes the course of action of drugs leading to the physiological effect at a specific site in the body.
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Agonism and Antagonism: Quantification

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Bioavailability Enhancement: Drug Permeability Enhancement

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Dose-Response Relationship: Potency and Efficacy

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Pharmacokinetics: Drug–Drug Interactions

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