Elucidating the mechanism of the Tibetan medicine sanguotang in treating gouty arthritis through network pharmacology and in vivo experiments.

BACKGROUND: We explored the mechanisms of Sanguotang (SGT), a Tibetan medicine, in treating gout arthritis (GA). METHODS: The main active components, action targets, and disease targets of SGT were identified through TCMSP databases. The gene functions were analyzed using protein interaction (PPI) networks, Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis, and molecular docking. A GA model induced by monosodium urate was established in rats. The ankle joint swelling was observed. The levels of uric acid (UA) and albumin (ALB) in rat serum were measured. Hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining was conducted to examine the pathological changes in rat ankle joints. RESULTS: Twenty-nine active components of SGT with proven efficacy and 66 intersection targets were identified, primarily involved in inflammation and immune regulation pathways. The PPI results revealed that the key targets of SGT against GA included ALB, IL6, TNF, TP53, and PTGS. Molecular docking showed favorable binding energy between the ALB protein and the active components. The results from animal experiments demonstrated that SGT effectively alleviated the inflammatory reaction in ankle joints, and decreased UA and ALB levels. Furthermore, SGT effectively inhibited the proliferation of synovial cells in the ankle joint cavity, prevented infiltration of inflammatory cells, and protected synovial tissue, thereby improving GA. CONCLUSIONS: SGT comprehensively contributes to the treatment of GA by regulating UA metabolism, reducing the release of inflammatory factors, and modulating immune and inflammatory pathways.

Characterization of the complete chloroplast genome of the Musk Larkspur Delphinium brunonianum (Ranunculales: Ranunculaceae).

Musk Larkspur (Delphinium brunonianum) is a perennial herb of the family Ranunculace with medicinal values. In this study, the chloroplast (cp) genome of this herb was determined to be 153,926 bp long with an A + T-biased base composition, and comprises a pair of inverted repeat (IR) regions (26,559 bp), separated by a large single-copy (LSC) region (84,512 bp) and a small single-copy (SSC) region (16,296 bp). A total of 112 gene species were annotated with 19 of them being completely or partially duplicated. Eighteen gene species harbor one or two introns. Phylogenetic analysis challenged the monophyly of the subfamily Ranunculoideae.

Characterization of the complete chloroplast genome of the Tangut monkshood Aconitum tanguticum (Ranunculales: Ranunculaceae).

The Tangut monkshood (Aconitum tanguticum) is a perennial herb with high medicinal values. Here, its chloroplast genome was assembled from Illumina sequencing reads. The circular genome is 157,114 bp long with an A + T-biased nucleotide composition, and comprises a pair of inverted repeat (IR) regions (26,255 bp), separated by a large single-copy (LSC) region (87,559 bp) and a small single-copy (SSC) region (17,045 bp). It encodes a total of 112 gene species, with 19 of them being completely or partially duplicated and 18 of them harboring one or two introns. Phylogenetic analysis recovered two major clades of the genus Aconitum.