Active Ingredients and Potential Mechanisms of the Gan Jiang-Huang Qin-Huang Lian-Ren Shen Decoction against Ulcerative Colitis: A Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking-Based Study

Abstract

Background. Ulcerative colitis (UC), a chronic and nonspecific inflammatory bowel disease, seriously affects the quality of patients’ life. Han Re Bing Yong Fa (treating diseases with both cool- and warm-natured herbs) is a classical therapeutic principle of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), which is often used to treat chronic diseases, including UC. The Gan Jiang-Huang Qin-Huang Lian-Ren Shen decoction (GJHQHLRSD), a representative of Han Re Bing Yong Fa, is effective in alleviating inflammatory symptoms in UC. However, the pharmacological mechanism underlying its anti-inflammatory effect remains unclear. Methods. A network pharmacology strategy, including the construction and analysis of the drug–disease network, was used to explore the complex mechanism of GJHQHLRSD treatment of UC. In addition, molecular docking technology was used to preliminarily examine the binding ability of the potential active components and core therapeutic targets of GJHQHLRSD. Results. The network pharmacology results revealed 140 targets of GJHQHLRSD which are involved in UC. The PPI network analysis identified seven target genes: BCL2L1, NR3C1, ALOX5, S1PR5, NR1I2, CYP2D6, and LPAR6. The molecular docking results revealed that the following displayed strongest combined effects: EGFR with kaempferol, ERK1 with worenine, STAT3 with Palmidin A, BCL2L1 with diop and VEGFA with ginsenoside Rg3. The KEGG and gene ontology enrichment analyses results indicated that GJHQHLRSD functions by regulating the EGFR signaling pathway in UC treatment. Other effective biological processes involved in UC treatment included cancer-related as well as inflammation and viral infection signaling pathways, such as the “MicroRNAs in cancer,” “TNF signaling pathway,” and “JAK-STAT signaling pathway.” Conclusions. This study reflects the multicomponent, multitarget, and multipathway characteristics of the action mechanism of GJHQHLRSD in treating UC. Furthermore, it helps better understand the TCM therapeutic principle of Han Re Bing Yong Fa and explore novel candidate drug targets for UC treatment.

Application of network pharmacology in the study of mechanism of Chinese medicine in the treatment of ulcerative colitis: A review

“…Network pharmacology analysis found that the core targets of JQP were mainly enriched in inflammatory and immune response signaling pathways, and in vivo experiments in animals showed that JQP ameliorated histological changes and symptoms in DSS colitis by significantly impairing DSS's ability to induce high expression levels of TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β, and NF-κB/p65 (Wen et al, 2021). Gan Jiang-Huang Qin-Huang Lian-Ren Shen decoction (GJHQHLRSD) is one of the ancient Chinese traditional recipes, Zhou et al (2021a) found that the following displayed the strongest combined effects: VEGFA with ginsenoside Rg3, BCL2L1 with diop, ERK1 with worenine, STAT3 with palmidin A, and EGFR with kaempferol, finally confirmed that GJHQHLRSD plays a role in the treatment of UC by regulating the EGFR signaling pathway.…”

Development of Paeonol Liposomes: Design, Optimization, in vitro and in vivo Evaluation

“…In recent years, traditional Chinese medicine has played an increasingly important role in UC treatment due to its multi-target and multi-component characteristics. [7][8][9] In Chinese medicine, Moutan Cortex, the root bark of Paeonolonia suffruticosa Andrews (Paeonoloniaceae), has antipyretic, analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects. 10 Paeonol, 2'-hydroxy-4'-methoxyacetophenone, is the main phenolic component of Cortex Moutan, which has a wide range of pharmacological activities, such as anti-inflammatory activity, 11 antibacterial activity, 12 anti-allergic activity, 13 anti-tumor activity, 14 and so on.…”