Exploring the Mechanism of Panax notoginseng Saponins against Alzheimer's Disease by Network Pharmacology and Experimental Validation

Latest Evidence and Perspectives of Panax Notoginseng Extracts and Preparations for the Treatment of Cardiovascular Diseases

ABSTRACT

Cardiovascular diseases are a major cause of death worldwide, and their high incidence poses a significant threat to human health and public health systems. Panax notoginseng , a traditional Chinese medicinal herb with a long history, has shown promise in treating cardiovascular diseases. This review examines the diverse mechanisms through which Panax notoginseng addresses cardiovascular diseases, including anti-inflammatory, antiplatelet aggregation, anticoagulation, anti-oxidative stress, regulation of angiogenesis, antiatherosclerosis, improvement of microcirculatory disorders, and protection against myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury, highlighting saponins as the principal active components. It also summarizes studies involving Panax notoginseng preparations like Xueshuantong and Xuesaitong in treating coronary heart disease and myocardial infarction, and discusses the safety, limitations, and future research directions of these extracts. In conclusion, the cardiovascular protective mechanism of Panax notoginseng is multitargeted and multipathways, and its clinical application is relatively safe, with rare and mild adverse drug reactions, suggesting a promising therapeutic potential.

PnNAC03 from Panax notoginseng functions in positively regulating saponins and lignin biosynthesis during cell wall formation

KEY MESSAGE

PnNAC03 positively regulates saponin biosynthesis and lignin accumulation during secondary cell wall formation by directly binding to the promoters of key saponin and lignin biosynthetic genes. The NAC transcription factor family plays a crucial role in the regulation of secondary metabolites biosynthesis. Saponins are the major bioactive compounds for Panax notoginseng, which is a world-globally recognized medicinal plant and possesses multiple pharmacological activities. The secondary cell wall is essential for P.notoginseng growth and stress resistance. However, the role of NAC transcription factors in regulating both saponin biosynthesis and secondary cell wall formation remains largely unknown. In this study, we characterized an NAC transcription factor, PnNAC03, which is a nuclear-localized protein and functions as a transcriptional activator. Silencing of PnNAC03 with the RNAi method in P. notoginseng calli resulted in a significant reduction in the content of saponin and the expression of key saponin biosynthetic genes, including PnSS, PnSE, and PnDS. Additionally, PnNAC03 specifically bound to the promoters of these genes, thereby enhancing their expression. Overexpression of PnNAC03 in Arabidopsis thaliana led to the increase of secondary cell wall thickness and lignin content, as well as upregulation of the expression of AtPAL and AtC4H. RNAi-mediated silencing of PnNAC03 in P. notoginseng further confirmed its role in lignin biosynthesis, as lignin content and the expression levels of PnPAL and PnC4H were significantly reduced. Furthermore, PnNAC03 could directly bind to the promoters of PAL and C4H genes in both A. thaliana and P. notoginseng. Collectively, our results highlight the dual regulatory role of PnNAC03 in promoting both saponin biosynthesis and lignin accumulation, providing valuable insights for the molecular breeding of P. notoginseng.

Mechanism of Panax notoginseng saponins in improving cognitive impairment induced by chronic sleep deprivation based on the integrative analysis of serum metabolomics and network pharmacology

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Panax notoginseng saponin (PNS) has a variety of biological activities, such as improvement of myocardial ischemia, improvement of learning and memory, hypolipidemia, and immunomodulation. However, its protective mechanism on the central nervous system (CNS) is not clear.

AIM OF THE STUDY

The present study initially evaluated the possible mechanism of PNS to improve cognitive dysfunction due to chronic sleep deprivation (CSD).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In the present study, we used a modified multi-platform aquatic environment sleep deprivation method to induce a cognitively impaired rat model, and explored the mechanism of action of PNS by integrating serum metabolomics and network pharmacology, which was further verified by molecular docking and experiments.

RESULTS

The results showed that PNS significantly shortened the escape latency, increased the target quadrant time and the number of traversing platforms, and attenuated the inflammatory damage in the hippocampal Cornu Ammonis 1 (CA1) region in CSD rats. The non-targeted metabolomics results indicated that 35 biomarkers significantly altered following PNS therapy intervention, with metabolic pathways enriched for the effects of One carbon pool by folate, Riboflavin metabolism, Glycerophospholipid metabolism, Sphingolipid metabolism, Glycerolipid metabolism, Arachidonic acid metabolism, and Tryptophan metabolism. In addition, network pharmacology identified 234 potential targets for PNS intervention in CSD with cognitive impairment. Metabolite-response-enzyme-gene network was constructed by MetaScape and matched with the network pharmacology results to identify a total of five shared targets (LPL, GPAM, HSD11B1, HSD11B2, and SULT2A1) and two metabolic pathways (Sphingolipid metabolism and Steroid hormone biosynthesis). The results of molecular docking revealed that the five active ingredients had good binding ability with the five core targets. qPCR analysis confirmed the ability of PNS to modulate the above five targets.

CONCLUSIONS

The combination of metabolomics and network analysis provides a scientific basis for promoting the clinical application of PNS in cognitive impairment.

Network pharmacology analysis and clinical verification of Panax notoginseng saponins in deep venous thrombosis prevention

In the present study, the mechanism of Panax notoginseng saponins (PNS), the extract of Panax notoginseng, against deep vein thrombosis (DVT) was explored by networks pharmacology and its effect was demonstrated through clinical data. PNS includes 5 main active components, which have 101 targets. A total of 1,342 DVT-related targets were obtained, 55 of which were the common targets of PNS and DVT. AKT1, TNF, IL1B, EGFR, VEGFA and MAPK3 were selected as hub genes from the protein-protein interaction network. The potential anti-DVT mechanism of PNS may involve the AGE-RAGE signaling pathway and the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway. Molecular docking presented a total of 10 binding interactions, with all molecules showing good binding ability with PNS-DVT common hub target genes (all binding energy <-6 kcal/mol). Analysis of clinical data showed that the combined use of PNS significantly reduced the incidence of postoperative DVT in patients undergoing orthopedic surgery compared with the use of low-molecular-weight heparin alone, which is the most commonly used clinical anticoagulant.

Panax notoginseng: Pharmacological Aspects and Toxicological Issues

Current evidence suggests a beneficial role of herbal products in free radical-induced diseases. Panax notoginseng (Burk.) F. H. Chen has long occupied a leading position in traditional Chinese medicine because of the ergogenic, nootropic, and antistress activities, although these properties are also acknowledged in the Western world. The goal of this paper is to review the pharmacological and toxicological properties of P. notoginseng and discuss its potential therapeutic effect. A literature search was carried out on Pubmed, Scopus, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials databases. The following search terms were used: "notoginseng", "gut microbiota", "immune system", "inflammation", "cardiovascular system", "central nervous system", "metabolism", "cancer", and "toxicology". Only peer-reviewed articles written in English, with the full text available, have been included. Preclinical evidence has unraveled the P. notoginseng pharmacological effects in immune-inflammatory, cardiovascular, central nervous system, metabolic, and neoplastic diseases by acting on several molecular targets. However, few clinical studies have confirmed the therapeutic properties of P. notoginseng, mainly as an adjuvant in the conventional treatment of cardiovascular disorders. Further clinical studies, which both confirm the efficacy of P. notoginseng in free radical-related diseases and delve into its toxicological aspects, are mandatory to broaden its therapeutic potential.

Current Progress on Neuroprotection Induced by Artemisia, Ginseng, Astragalus, and Ginkgo Traditional Chinese Medicines for the Therapy of Alzheimer's Disease

Aging is associated with the occurrence of diverse degenerative changes in various tissues and organs and with an increased incidence of neurological disorders, especially neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). In recent years, the search for effective components derived from medicinal plants in delaying aging and preventing and treating neurodegenerative diseases has been increasing and the number of related publications shows a rising trend. Here, we present a concise, updated review on the preclinical and clinical research progress in the assessment of the therapeutic potential of different traditional Chinese medicines and derived active ingredients and their effect on the signaling pathways involved in AD neuroprotection. Recognized by their multitargeting ability, these natural compounds hold great potential in developing novel drugs for AD.