Network pharmacology-based strategy for predicting therapy targets of Sanqi and Huangjing in diabetes mellitus

Network pharmacology: a bright guiding light on the way to explore the personalized precise medication of traditional Chinese medicine

Network pharmacology can ascertain the therapeutic mechanism of drugs for treating diseases at the level of biological targets and pathways. The effective mechanism study of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) characterized by multi-component, multi-targeted, and integrative efficacy, perfectly corresponds to the application of network pharmacology. Currently, network pharmacology has been widely utilized to clarify the mechanism of the physiological activity of TCM. In this review, we comprehensively summarize the application of network pharmacology in TCM to reveal its potential of verifying the phenotype and underlying causes of diseases, realizing the personalized and accurate application of TCM. We searched the literature using "TCM network pharmacology" and "network pharmacology" as keywords from Web of Science, PubMed, Google Scholar, as well as Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure in the last decade. The origins, development, and application of network pharmacology are closely correlated with the study of TCM which has been applied in China for thousands of years. Network pharmacology and TCM have the same core idea and promote each other. A well-defined research strategy for network pharmacology has been utilized in several aspects of TCM research, including the elucidation of the biological basis of diseases and syndromes, the prediction of TCM targets, the screening of TCM active compounds, and the decipherment of mechanisms of TCM in treating diseases. However, several factors limit its application, such as the selection of databases and algorithms, the unstable quality of the research results, and the lack of standardization. This review aims to provide references and ideas for the research of TCM and to encourage the personalized and precise use of Chinese medicine.

Determination of the synergistic anti-influenza effect of Huangqin Su tablet and Oseltamivir and investigation of mechanism of the tablet based on gut microbiota and network pharmacology

Huangqin Su (HQS) tablet is mainly composed of baicalein which has been evaluated for its ability to inhibit influenza. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of HQS and oseltamivir phosphate (OS) (single or combination therapy) on influenza-induced acute pneumonia in male and female ICR mice. The regulatory effect of HQS on gut microbiota was also studied by using 16 s rDNA sequencing, and the targets and mechanisms of HQS against influenza were comprehensively analyzed by network pharmacology. Pharmacodynamic results, including lung index and pathological changes, showed that HQS exhibited significant anti-influenza efficacy and could improve the efficacy of low-dose OS (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01, respectively). The results of 16 s rDNA sequencing revealed that HQS modulated the gut microbiota and remarkably enriched the abundance of Lactobacillus. The findings of network pharmacology research suggested that the anti-influenza mechanism of HQS was related to TLRs, MAPK, and other signal transduction pathways. Taken together, this study identified the possibility of the combined use of HQS and OS and demonstrated the role of HQS in modulating the gut microbiota of mice against influenza. Network pharmacology studies also suggested that the anti-influenza effect of HQS was related to TLRs, MAPK, TNF, and other signaling pathways.