Background Mucuna giganteais a traditional plant reported in the management of nervous disorders, male infertility, etc., and also exhibits aphrodisiac, anti-oxidant, and anti-diabetic properties. Very few studies are conducted on Mucuna gigantea. It has not been pharmacologically evaluated for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In RA, the body's natural defence mechanism gets confused and begins to target the healthy tissues in the body, which leads to joint pain, swelling, bone erosion, and joint stiffness. It is a condition that is classified as an auto-immune disorder. Methods In-silico docking depicted that beta-sitosterol is present in Mucuna gigantea out of ligand library prepared based on a literature survey using computational analysis. Inflammation was induced by carrageen and chronic inflammation was induced by Freund's complete adjuvant in the plantar surface of the rats. The petroleum ether, ethanolic and aqueous extracts in three divided doses (75, 150, and 300 mg/kg) were administered orally. Diclofenac sodium (10 mg/kg), prednisolone (5 mg/kg), and methotrexate (0.5 mg/kg) were used as standard. The statistical significance between means was analyzed using one-way ANOVA, followed by Dunnett's multiple range test. The values are expressed as mean ± SD for each group (n=6), and aP<0.0001, bP<0.001, and cP<0.05 were compared with a negative control group. Results Ethanolic and petroleum ether extracts showed a statistically significant aP<0.0001 effect at 3hr with 300mg/kg effect in analgesic activity, whereas aqueous extracts showed statistically significant aP<0.0001 effect at 1.5hr with 150 and 300mg/kg. In the carrageen-induced model, all three extracts at 300 mg/kg showed a statistically significant aP<0.0001 effect from 2- 4hr. In Freund's adjuvant model, all three extracts at all doses showed a statistically significant aP<0.0001 effect. Also, Mucuna gigantea remarkably ameliorated altered WBCs, rheumatoid factor, and positively modified radiographic and histopathological changes. Conclusion Taken together, these results support the traditional use of Mucuna gigantea as a potent anti-inflammatory and anti-arthritic agent that may be proposed for rheumatoid arthritis treatment.
Background: Rhizoma drynariae, a classic prescription in traditional Chinese medicine, has long been used for the treatment of osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH), but its potential targets and molecular mechanisms remain to be further explored.
Objective: This study aims to explore the mechanism of Rhizoma drynariae in ONFH treatment via network pharmacology and in vitro experiments.
Methods: Targets of Rhizoma drynariae and ONFH were predicted using relevant databases, and intersection analysis was conducted to screen for shared targets. A PPI network of the shared targets was built using STRING to identify the key targets. Functional enrichment analyses of Gene Ontology and KEGG pathway data were carried out using R software. The compound-target-pathway network was constructed for Rhizoma Drynariae in the treatment with ONFH using Cytoscape 3.9.0. Cell proliferation was assessed using CCK8 and apoptosis was detected using (Propidium Iodide) PI staining and western blotting.
Results: This study depicts the interrelationship of the bioactive compounds of Rhizoma drynariae with ONFH-associated signaling pathways and target receptors and is a potential reagent for ONFH treatment.
Conclusion: Based on a network pharmacology analysis and in vitro experiment, we predicted and validated the active compounds and potential targets of Rhizoma drynariae, provide valuable evidence of Rhizoma Drynariae in future ONFH treatment.
Aim: To provide new methods and ideas for the clinical application of integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine in the treatment of esophageal cancer.
Background: Traditional Chinese medicine compound Kushen injection (CKI) has been widely used in the clinic with adjuvant radiotherapy and chemotherapy. However, the mechanism of action of CKI as adjuvant therapy for esophageal cancer has not yet been described.
Methods: This study is based on network pharmacology, data mining, and molecular docking technology to explore the mechanism of action of CKI in the treatment of esophageal cancer. We obtained the effective ingredients and targets of CKI from the traditional Chinese medicine system pharmacology database and analysis platform (TCMSP) and esophageal cancer-related genes from the Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) and GeneCards databases.
Results: CKI mainly contains 58 active components. Among them, the top 5 active ingredients are quercetin, luteolin, naringenin, formononetin, and beta-sitostero. The target protein of the active ingredient was matched with the genes associated with esophageal cancer. The active ingredients targeted 187 esophageal cancer target proteins, including AKT1, MAPK1, MAPK3, TP53, HSP90AA1, and other proteins. Then, we enriched and analyzed the Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) and used AutoDockVina to dock the core targets and compounds. Finally, PyMOL and Ligplot were used for data visualization.
Conclusion: This study provides a new method and ideas for the clinical application of integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine in the treatment of esophageal cancer.
Background: Buyang Huanwu Decoction (BHD) is used to regulate blood circulation and clear collaterals and is widely used in coronary heart disease. However, the active compounds and the mechanism of BHD used to treat restenosis are less understood.
Objective: The study aimed to explore the potential mechanism of Buyang Huanwu decoction BHD for the treatment of restenosis using network pharmacology and molecular docking experiments.
Methods: The bioactive components of BHD and their corresponding targets were retrieved from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology (TCMSP) and Encyclopaedia of Traditional Chinese Medicine (ETCM) databases as well as literature. Restenosisassociated therapeutic genes were identified from the OMIM, Drugbank, GEO, and Dis- GeNET databases. Genes related to the vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) phenotype were obtained from the gene ontology (GO) database and literature. The core target genes for the drug-disease-VSMC phenotype were identified using the Venn tool and Cytoscape software. Moreover, the "drug-component-target-pathway" network was constructed and analyzed, and pathway enrichment analysis was performed. The connection between the main active components and core targets was analyzed using the AutoDock tool, and PyMOL was used to visualize the results.
Results: The "compound-target-disease" network included 80 active ingredients and 599 overlapping targets. Among the bioactive components, quercetin, ligustrazine, ligustilide, hydroxysafflor yellow A, and dihydrocapsaicin had high degree values, and the core targets included TP53, MYC, APP, UBC, JUN, EP300, TGFB1, UBB, SP1, MAPK1, SMAD2, CTNNB1, FOXO3, PIN1, EGR1, TCF4, FOS, SMAD3, and CREBBP. A total of 365 items were obtained from the GO functional enrichment analysis (p < 0.05), whereas the enrichment analysis of the KEGG pathway identified 30 signaling pathways (p < 0.05), which involved the TGF-β signaling pathway, Wnt signaling pathway, TRAF6-mediated induction of NF-κB and MAPK pathway, TLR7/8 cascade, and others. The molecular docking results revealed quercetin, luteolin, and ligustilide to have good affinity with the core targets MYC and TP53.
Conclusion: The active ingredients in BHD might act on TP53, MYC, APP, UBC, JUN, and other targets through its active components (such as quercetin, ligustrazine, ligustilide, hydroxysafflor yellow A, and dihydrocapsaicin). This action of BHD may be transmitted via the involvement of multiple signaling pathways, including the TGF-β signaling pathway, Wnt signaling pathway, TRAF6-mediated induction of NF-κB and MAPK pathway, and TLR7/8 cascade, to treat restenosis by inhibiting the phenotype switching and proliferation of VSMC.
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