Targeting Drug Delivery and Meridional Theory in the Processing of Chinese Materia Medica

The principle of meridian theory in the processing of Chinese materia medica has the same features as the targeting drug delivery in pharmaceutics. Both of them are preparation methods which can change the distribution of drugs， reduce the toxic and side effects as much as possible and enhance the therapeutic effects. However， the target sites of them and the strategies are quite different. The targeting site of the traditional Chinese medicine in the processing of Chinese materia medica is guided by the theory of traditional Chinese medicine and consisted of one or several organizations with a certain degree of integrity. However， most of the target drug delivery are reach to physiologic tissues， organs， cells or organelles with significant accuracy. In addition， the meridian theory in the processing of Chinese materia medica is mainly based on the drug processing， focusing on the change of the material basis through the process to achieve the purpose. The targeting preparation focus on the design of new functional materials to build smart carrier transport drugs to the destination. This article refers to the relevant literature， selects the representative research， discusses the difference and connection between the two concepts， provides some reference to explain the meridian theory， and provides a useful reference for finding a new strategy of targeting drug delivery.