Investigation of the pharmacodynamic substances in dahuang zhechong pill that inhibit energy metabolism.

ABSTRACT

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE Dahuang Zhechong pill (DHZCP) is a commonly used traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of hepatocarcinoma. AIM OF THE STUDY Previous studies have found that DHZCP can exert anti-hepatocarcinoma effects and reverse drug resistance by inhibiting energy metabolism. The goal of this study was to further explore the pharmacodynamic substances that inhibit energy metabolism. METHODS: The components of DHZCP absorbed into plasma were identified by UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS. The Swiss and STITCH databases were used for target collection. The DAVID database was used for pathway enrichment analysis. Cytoscape software was used for network construction. The CCK-8 method detected cell viability. Chemiluminescence was used to detect ATP levels. RESULTS: A total of 89 components absorbed into plasma were identified by UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS. Based on this, 24 potential pharmacodynamic substances were selected by network pharmacology. Among them, 11 components such as rhein can significantly inhibit ATP levels. CONCLUSIONS: Rhein, emodin, chrysophanol, hypoxanthine, baicalein, baicalin, wogonoside, acteoside, formononetin, isoliquiritigenin, and glycyrrhizic acid were the pharmacodynamic substances responsible for inhibition of energy metabolism of DHZCP.