ABSTRACT
The common fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, is a well studied and tractable genetic model organism for exploring molecular mechanisms of human diseases in biological science. The considerable work of Drosophila has promoted the comprehension of relative protein expressions and signaling pathways associated with pathological and physiological activities. Meanwhile, various strains of transgenic drosophila with diverse genetic features have been established. These fly strains can be applied into bioactivity evaluation and drug screen as an emerging human disease model. The development of Chinese medicine has been seriously restricted by lacking of techniques and methods in activity evaluation. D. melanogaster, because of its many distinguishing features, such as rapid reproduction, short life cycle, rich strains, entirety action, highly correlated with human and other characteristics, has become a desirable choice to study Chinese medicine which has complicated composition. Here, progress of researches based on flies in disease models and their application in drug evaluating were reviewed, including aging, neurodegenerative diseases, metabolic disorders and diabetes, sleep disorder, intestinal immunity, reproduction, cancer and cardiac function.