中药炮制与复方配伍是中医临床用药的两大特色。目前已有的研究大多单一专注于配伍机制或炮制机理，很少将二者有机结合起来，涉及在复方中探讨中药炮制作用机制的报道更是罕见，这直接导致复方中中药炮制品种的选择缺乏科学理论依据而只能依赖于临床医师的经验。根据六经学说和郁症学说，四逆散为中医治疗抑郁症良方，但方中柴胡和白芍的炮制品使用极为混乱，严重影响其疗效。鉴于此，本项目立足于单味药、药对、复杂复方三个层次，以代表性药物柴胡、柴胡-白芍药对、四逆散为例，采用“化学物质基础-内源性代谢产物-生理生化指标”的研究思路，从体内外整体评价和分子生物水平入手，系统研究比较三个层次下柴胡和白芍炮制前后及配伍和组方中化学成分、药效作用和体内动态过程的变化，阐明其药效物质基础，揭示炮制配伍的科学内涵。通过本项目的研究，旨在探索炮制配伍研究的共性规律，为指导中医临床安全用药及复方中饮片合理炮制提供科学理论依据。

Chinese medicine processing and Chinese medicinal formula compatibility are two outstanding characteristics in the clinical applications of Chinese medicine. However, current studies most often focus on compatibility mechanism or processing mechanism alone with very few combining them together organically, and the reports discussing Chinese medicine processing mechanism in Chinese medicinal formula have been rarely seen. As a result, the selection of the processed products of Chinese medicine in Chinese medicinal formula has to rely on the experience of clinicians without sufficient basis of scientific theories. Sinisan has been regarded as an effective anti-depression prescription according to the traditional Chinese medicine theories of six channels and depression. However, the employment of processed Bupleuri Radix and processed Paeoniae Radix Alba in Sinisan is quite confused, which largely affects its curative effects in clinic. In order to solve this embarrassing situation, we creationally put forward three progressive levels - single herb, herb pair, and complicated Chinese herbal formula - based on the representative drug Bupleuri Radix, Bupleuri Radix - Paeoniae Radix Alba herb-pair, and Sinisan, and adopted the research idea of “chemical material basis - endogenous metabolite - physiological and biochemical index”. Starting from the overall evaluation of the in vitro and in vivo and the molecular biological level, systematical investigations were carried out and compared on the changes of chemical constituents, pharmacological effects, and pharmacokinetics of Bupleuri Radix and Paeoniae Radix Alba, compatibility, and Sinisan before and after processing to clarify pharmacodynamic material basis and herein reveal scientific connotation of processing compatibility. We are looking forward to seek out the common mechanism of processing compatibility so as to provide the scientific theory basis for safe clinical applications of Chinese medicine and rational drug processing in Chinese herbal formula through the research of this project.