Network Pharmacology

Network pharmacology is an emerging discipline focused on understanding drug interactions and actions within multiple targets. It systematically lists the molecular interactions of a drug that take place in a living cell, by making use of computational techniques. It studies the effect of a drug on the body and the biological system. It comprises chemical properties, sources, biological effects and use of drugs for therapeutics. Bioinformatics, high-throughput histology and system biology are utilized by network pharmacology, which combines information network and pharmacology. Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics are the two main branches of pharmacology. Pharmacokinetics is concerned with the supply, absorption, metabolism and excretion of drugs, while pharmacodynamics is related with the physiological, molecular and biochemical effects of drugs. It integrates polypharmacology and network biology, which helps in the identification of drugs and disease targets, simultaneously understanding pathways and mechanisms between them. This book is a compilation of chapters that discuss the most vital concepts in the field of network pharmacology. The topics covered herein offer the readers new insights into this field.