Screening of anti‑chronic nonbacterial prostatitis activity of different extractions of the aerial part of Glycyrrhiza uralensis, and network pharmacology research

Abstract

In the present study, anti-chronic nonbacterial prostatitis (CNP) pharmacological experiments using water and ethanol extraction of the aerial parts of Glycyrrhiza uralensis were performed to select the best active parts by comparing their efficacy in a CNP model established by injecting carrageenin into the ventral lobe of rat prostate. The anti-CNP activities and expression of serum inflammatory factors in rats were also analyzed. A Protein-Protein Interaction network was constructed, and core targets were screened using topology and analyzed using Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes. Water and ethanol extraction exhibited good inhibitory effect on the pathological changes of the prostate tissue, the expression of inflammatory factors and fibrosis factors in CNP rats, whereas no differences were observed compared with the positive control drug. Water extraction was more effective and significantly reduced PGE2 expression (P<0.05). Network pharmacology assays showed 15 active components in the aerial part of Glycyrrhiza uralensis , and 9 key CNP therapeutic targets of the aerial parts of Glycyrrhiza uralensis were identified. The effect of water exraction on chronic prostatitis rats was significant. The aerial part of Glycyrrhiza uralensis downregulated the levels of inflammatory factors and inhibited proinflammatory gene transcription, reduced oxidative stress response, inhibited cell survival pathways, regulated sex hormone levels, prevented immunostimulation and attenuated inflammation. This study provides a theoretical reference for the development of anti-CNP agents, and offers a novel methodology for identifying and clarifying the mechanisms underlying the efficacy of the anti-CNP components in the aerial part of Glycyrrhiza uralensis .

Pharmacokinetics, Prostate Distribution and Metabolic Characteristics of Four Representative Flavones after Oral Administration of the Aerial Part of Glycyrrhiza uralensis in Rats

“…The aerial part of G. uralensis has been studied in our research group for many years, but it has not been used in clinical practice. In our previous study [ 1 ], 1 g/kg of the aerial part of G. uralensis extract was determined to be the best effective dose to induce anti-CNP activity. According to the conversion ratio between human and rat, the dosage of human should be 0.159 g/kg.…”

“…The proportion of total flavonoids in the dry stem and leaves of Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch. (licorice, G. uralensis ) is up to 5.64% [ 1 ]. We have reported previously that the aerial parts of G. uralensis exhibit antioxidant [ 2 ], antibacterial [ 3 ], anti-inflammatory [ 2 ], antitumor [ 4 ] and antidiabetic [ 5 ] properties.…”

“…We have reported previously that the aerial parts of G. uralensis exhibit antioxidant [ 2 ], antibacterial [ 3 ], anti-inflammatory [ 2 ], antitumor [ 4 ] and antidiabetic [ 5 ] properties. A research group showed that licorice can partly confer an antichronic nonbacterial prostatitis (CNP) effect [ 1 ]. To our knowledge, despite the widespread use of the aerial parts of G. uralensis and extensive studies on the traditional drug sites of G. uralensis , the metabolites, pharmacokinetics, prostate distribution and metabolic pathways of flavonoids of the aerial parts of G. uralensis in vivo are unknown.…”

Simultaneous Analysis for Quality Control of Traditional Herbal Medicine, Gungha-Tang, Using Liquid Chromatography–Tandem Mass Spectrometry

“…Nine herbal medicines have been reported to have various biological effects, for example, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anticancer, antitumor, antidiabetes, antiaging, anti-obesity, neuroprotective, and antibacterial activities [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. Recently, a study on the safety of a single administration of GHT was reported by An et al [4], but few studies on the biological activity have been reported.…”