[Role of NLRP3 inflammasome in diabetic neuropathy and prevention and treatment with traditional Chinese medicine].

As one of the most frequent complications of diabetes, diabetic neuropathy often involves peripheral and central nervous systems. Neuroinflammation is the key pathogenic factor of secondary nerve injury in diabetes. NOD-like receptor pyrin domain-containing 3(NLRP3) inflammasome is a group of subcellular multiprotein complexes, including NLRP3, apoptosis associated speck-like protein(ASC), and pro-cysteinyl aspartate specific proteinase 1(pro-caspase-1). NLRP3 inflammasome is an inducer of innate immune responses. Its activation stimulates the inflammatory cascade reaction, promotes the release of inflammatory mediators, triggers cell death and uncontrolled autophagy, activates glial cells, facilitates peripheral immune cell infiltration, and initiates amyoid ß(Aß)-tau cascade reactions. As a result, it contributes to the central nerve, somatic nerve, autonomic nerve, and retinal nerve cell damage secondary to diabetes. Therefore, due to its key role in the neuroinflammation responses of the body, NLRP3 inflammasome may provide new targets for the treatment of diabetic neuropathy. With multi-target and low-toxicity advantages, traditional Chinese medicine plays a vital role in the treatment of diabetic neuropathy. Accumulating evidence has shown that traditional Chinese medicine exerts curative effects on diabetic neuropathy possibly through regulating NLRP3 inflammasome. Although the role of NLRP3 inflammasome in diabetes and related complications has been investigated in the literature, systematical studies on drugs and mechanism analysis for secondary neuropathy are still lacking. In this article, the role of NLRP3 inflammasome in diabetic neuropathy was explored, and the research progress on traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of diabetic neuropathy through NLRP3 inflammasome was reviewed.

Apigenin ameliorates non-eosinophilic inflammation, dysregulated immune homeostasis and mitochondria-mediated airway epithelial cell apoptosis in chronic obese asthma via the ROS-ASK1-MAPK pathway.

BACKGROUND: Obese asthma is one of the important asthma phenotypes that have received wide attention in recent years. Excessive oxidative stress and different inflammatory endotypes may be important reasons for the complex symptoms, frequent aggravation, and resistance to traditional treatments of obese asthma. Apigenin (API), is a flavonoid natural small molecule compound with good anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activity in various diseases and proved to have the potential efficacy to combat obese asthma. METHODS: In vivo, this study fed C57BL/6 J mice with high-fat diets(HFD)for 12 weeks and then stimulated them with OVA for 6 weeks to establish a model of chronic obese asthma, while different doses of oral API or dexamethasone were used for therapeutic interventions. In vitro, this study used HDM to stimulate human bronchial cells (HBEs) to establish the model and intervened with API or Selonsertib (SEL). RESULTS: This study clarified that OVAinduced a type of mixed granulocytic asthma with elevated neutrophils and eosinophils in obese male mice fed with long-term HFD, which also exhibited mixed TH17/TH1/TH2 inflammation. Apigenin effectively suppressed this complex inflammation and acted as a regulator of immune homeostasis. Meanwhile, apigenin reduced AHR, inflammatory cell infiltration, airway epithelial cell apoptosis, airway collagen deposition, and lung oxidative stress via the ROS-ASK1-MAPK pathway in an obese asthma mouse model. In vitro, this study found that apigenin altered the binding status of TRAF6 to ASK1, inhibited ASK1 phosphorylation, and protected against ubiquitin-dependent degradation of ASK1, suggesting that ROS-activated ASK1 may be an important target for apigenin to exert anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic effects. To further verify the intervention mechanism, this study clarified that apigenin improved cell viability and mitochondrial function and inhibited apoptosis by interfering with the ROS-ASK1-MAPK pathway. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates for the first time the therapeutic effect of apigenin in chronic obese asthma and further clarifies its potential therapeutic targets. In addition, this study clarifies the specificity of chronic obese asthma and provides new options for its treatment.

Study on discovery of efficacy markers for Dachaihu Decoction and its action mechanism / 中国中药杂志

Dachaihu Decoction is a classical Chinese herbal prescription that is effective in harmonizing lesser yang and purging internal accumulated heat. At present, it has been widely used in clinical practice, and the resulting outcomes are satisfactory. However, its quality indicators and action mechanism are still not clear. Therefore, this paper explored the efficacy markers of Dachaihu Decoction and its action mechanism based on literature mining, molecular biology, and network pharmacology, so as to better control its quality and ensure its clinical efficacy. The efficacy markers of Dachaihu Decoction were predicted and analyzed according to the "five principles" for Q-markers of Chinese herbs. Then the anti-inflammatory activity of the efficacy markers of Dachaihu Decoction was evaluated with Griess reagent after the establishment of RAW264.7 cell inflammation model in vitro with lipopolysaccharide(LPS). The potential targets of efficacy markers were predicted by Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform(TCMSP), ChEMBL, and SwissTargetPrediction, followed by the construction of the protein-protein interaction(PPI) network of the efficacy markers of Dachaihu Decoction. Topological, GO, and KEGG enrichment analysis was carried out to construct the "key target-signaling pathway-biological process" network, thus elucidating the action mechanism of the efficacy markers of Dachaihu Decoction. Saikosaponin B_2, baicalin, baicalein, wogonoside, neohesperidin, naringin, hesperidin, and paeoniflorin were considered as the potential efficacy markers of Dachaihu Decoction. The anti-inflammatory activity evaluation showed that the potential efficacy markers effectively inhibited the release of NO, exhibiting good anti-inflammatory activities. As demonstrated by network pharmacology, the efficacy markers of Dachaihu Decoction regulated the inflammatory response by acting on MAPK and NF-κB signaling pathways, the carbohydrate metabolism by HIF-1 and PI3 K-AKT signaling pathways, and the lipid metabolism by AMPK and PI3 K-AKT signaling pathways. This study discovered the efficacy markers of Dachaihu Decoction based on literature mining combined with molecular biological experiments and explored its action mechanism at the molecular level based on network pharmacology, which would provide reference for the quality control of Dachaihu Decoction and scientific basis for its clinical application.

Identification of active components in Xuefu Zhuyu Decoction based on targets of blood-activating function / 中国中药杂志

As a classic prescription for promoting blood circulation to remove blood stasis, Xuefu Zhuyu Decoction(XFZYD) is widely used in clinical practice and has notable curative effect. Based on the key targets of activating blood circulation, this study identified the active components of XFZYD to reveal the material basis. The components of XFZYD were collected from Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform(TCMSP). The molecular docking models were built for the blood-activating targets obtained from the previous study with the components of XFZYD. The top five active components with measurability for each target were selected as the potential blood-activating components in the prescription. The efficacy of the prescription can embody key pharmacological and high-content components. In this study, anti-platelet aggregation activity was used to characterize the effect of activating blood, and the in vivo experiments were conducted to verify the accuracy of the active components. A total of 210 chemical components of XFZYD were screened out from TCMSP and docked with the key targets with the function of activating blood. Ligustrazine, acteoside, naringin, etc. were selected as the potential active components for activating blood in XFZYD. The anti-platelet aggregation activity of the combination of Chuanxiong Rhizoma, Rehmanniae Radix, Aurantii Fructus, Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma, and Carthami Flos was 9.82%±5.11%. Compared with that in the control group, the platelet aggregation induced by adenosine diphosphate(ADP) was significantly inhibited in the test group(P<0.01), which verified the accuracy of the active components. This study can guide the research on the material basis of XFZYD and provide insights into the development and utilization of the classical prescription.

Mechanism of Wuwei Ganlu in treatment of knee osteoarthritis:a study based on network pharmacology and molecular docking / 中国中药杂志

Wuwei Ganlu, a formula for medicated bath, consists of medicinal materials of Ephedra sinica, Platycladus orientalis, Myricaria squamosa, Artemisia carvifolia, and Rhododendron anthopogonoides, which is effective in inducing perspiration, resisting inflammation, relieving pain, regulating yellow water disease, and activating blood circulation. On this basis, a variety of formulas for Tibetan medicated bath have been derived for the treatment of diseases in internal organs, joints, nerves, etc. Modern studies have confirmed that Wuwei Ganlu has a good therapeutic efficacy on knee osteoarthritis(KOA). The present study explored the mechanism of Wuwei Ganlu in treating KOA based on network pharmacology and molecular docking. Firstly, the chemical components of Wuwei Ganlu were obtained through literature mining and database retrieval, and corresponding potential targets were predicted according to the BATMAN-TCM database. The protein-protein interaction(PPI) network was obtained after the potential targets were input into the STRING database. The network function modules were analyzed by the Molecular Complex Detection(MCODE) algorithm, and the functions of the modules were annotated to analyze the action mode of Wuwei Ganlu. Secondly, the related targets of KOA were collected through the DisGeNET database, and the overlapping targets were confirmed to analyze the mechanism of Wuwei Ganlu in treating KOA. Finally, the key targets were selected for molecular docking with the main components of Wuwei Ganlu to verify the component-target interaction. A total of 550 chemical components and 1 365 potential targets of Wuwei Ganlu were obtained. PPI analysis indicated that this formula could exert the effects of oxidation-reduction, inflammation resistance, bone absorption, bone mineralization, etc. Nineteen common targets were obtained from the intersection of potential targets of Wuwei Ganlu and KOA disease targets. It was found that the Wuwei Ganlu mainly acts on nuclear factor-κB(NF-κB), interleukin-1 beta(IL1β), tumor necrosis factor(TNF), IL6, IL1 receptor antagonist(IL1 RN), and prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase-2(PTGS2) to treat KOA. Among the 550 chemical components of Wuwei Ganlu, 252 potential active components were docked with TNF and 163 with PTGS2, indicating good binding of the components with potential key targets. The study preliminarily explored the mechanism of Wuwei Ganlu in treating KOA to provide a reference for the further development and utilization of Tibetan medicated bath that has been included in the UN Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Analysis on targets of regulating Qi and activating blood based on activity spectrum of targets / 中国中药杂志

The traditional Chinese medicines(TCM) for activating blood circulation and the TCM for regulating Qi are often used in combination in clinical practice. However, their mechanisms are still unclear. The activity spectrum of targets can fuse the active components, targets and intensity of action, which provides support for the discussion of efficacy targets. The chemical components of common TCM sets for activating blood circulation and regulating Qi, as well as the negative sets not for activating blood circulation and re-gulating Qi were obtained from the database of TCM. By the similarity analysis of chemical components in TCM for activating blood circulation and DrugBank database, the predicted targets of chemical components in TCM for activating blood circulation were obtained, and the similarity value of the two was taken as the activity value of the active components and predicted targets. Then, the component-target activity value was weighted. The activity values of herb acting on the same target were fused to construct activity spectra of targets of the herbs for activating blood circulation, herbs for regulating Qi and negative herbs. The targets whose activity values of activating blood circulation and regulating Qi were higher than those of negative herbs were selected as potential targets of efficacy. Protein-protein interaction networks were constructed for topological, GO and KEGG enrichment analysis to determine the key targets of efficacy of activating blood circulation and regulating Qi. The component-target activity information collected from DrugBank database contained 4 499 compounds, 627 targets and 11 295 action relationships. The activating blood function protein-protein interaction network contained 206 nodes and 1 728 edges, while the regulating Qi function protein-protein interaction network contained 230 nodes and 986 edges. The enrichment analysis of topology, GO and KEGG showed that TCM for activating blood circulation mainly exerted its anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective and angiogenic effects on signaling cascade pathway mediated by VEGF/VEGFR2, ERK signaling pathway, calcium signaling pathway and PI3 K-AKT signaling pathway, and the key targets included mitogen activated protein kinases 3(MAPK3), proto-oncogene tyrosine-protein kinase Src(SRC), mitogen activated protein kinases 1(MAPK1), epidermal growth factor receptor(EGFR), phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate 3-kinase catalytic subunit alpha isoform(PIK3 CA), peroxisome proliferators-activated receptor gamma(PPARG), nitric oxide synthase 3(NOS3), prostaglandin G/H synthetase 2(PTGS2), matrix metalloproteinase-9(MMP9), and vascular endothelial growth factor A(VEGFA). TCM for regulating Qi mainly exerted anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects by acting on MAPK signaling pathway and PI3 K-AKT signaling pathway, and the key targets included mitogen activated protein kinases 8(MAPK8), SRC, mitogen activated protein kinases 14(MAPK14), and RAC-alpha serine/threonine-protein kinase(AKT1), mitogen activated protein kinases 3(MAPK3). Based on the activity spectrum of targets, the targets of the TCM for activating blood and the targets of the TCM for regulating Qi were analyzed to provide reference for the study of efficacy targets of TCM, and also provide some scientific basis for clinical application.

Potential therapeutic effect of Saussureae Involucratae Herba on breast cancer and its mechanism based on network pharmacology / 中国中药杂志

As one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in the world, female breast cancer is induced by the high level of estrogen. Saussureae Involucratae Herba(SIH), a gynecological medicinal, regulates estrogen-induced diseases. However, the therapeutic effect of SIH on breast cancer has not been reported. Therefore, this study aims to explore the potential efficacy of SIH on breast cancer based on in vitro experiment and network pharmacology. The inhibitory effect of SIH water extract on proliferation and migration of breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells was examined. The result demonstrated SIH water extract significantly suppressed the proliferation of breast cancer cells(IC_(50)=6.47 mg·mL~(-1)) and also restricted the migration. A total of 39 components of SIH were retrieved from traditional Chinese medicine database(TCMD) and 160 targets of SIH were screened by target fishing with the PharmaDB database. The Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man(OMIM) was used to establish a 1 001-targets data set of breast cancer. Based on the overlaps(45) of targets between SIH and breast cancer, a protein-protein interaction(PPI) network was built to analyze the interactions among these targets with STRING platform and Cytoscape. Finally, through topology and GO and KEGG analysis, 8 targets, 101 pathways and 85 biological processes were found to involve the treatment of breast cancer by SIH. SIH may exert the anti-breast cancer effect by regulating cell cycle, inhibiting proliferation, migration and adhesion of cancer cells, and modulating estrogen receptor. This study clarified the mechanism of SIH in treating breast cancer, which lays a foundation for the further development of SIH.

[Study on mechanism of Tibetan medicine Zuomua Decoction in treatment of hypertension based on network pharmacology and molecular docking technology].

Hypertension is a kind of chronic cardiovascular system disease caused by a series of factors and carriers dysfunction, which belongs to the category of Tibetan medicine "Chalong disease", and has a high rate of disability and mortality. Zuomua Decoction is a classical Tibetan medicine for Chalong disease, but its mechanism is not clear. Therefore, in this paper we explored the multi-components, multi-targets and multi-channels mechanism of Zuomua Decoction in the treatment of hypertension based on network pharmacology and molecular docking technology. First of all, the chemical components of Zuomua Decoction were obtained in the retrieval of traditional Chinese medicine systems pharmacology database(TCMSP), China National Knowledge Infrastructure(CNKI) and Wanfang database. The potential targets of Zuomua Decoction were predicted by BATMAN-TCM database, and the targets of hypertension were obtained by using DisGeNET database. The intersection of these two targets set was taken to obtain the potential targets of Zuomua Decoction in the treatment of hypertension, and then the chemical compositions-targets network was constructed. Secondly, the intersection targets were imported into STRING database to obtain the interaction relationship of intersection targets, and the protein interaction network of Zuomua Decoction in the treatment of hypertension was constructed in Cytoscape. Topological, GO, and KEGG enrichment analysis were used to construct the key targets-signal pathways-biological processes network diagram and explore the mechanism of Zuomua Decoction in the treatment of hypertension. Finally, the key targets were selected to construct the pharmacodynamic identification models to verify the effect mode of Zomua Decoction in treating hypertension. The results showed that there were 61 chemical components and 90 potential targets in the compounds-targets network. We obtained 21 key targets, 154 signal pathways, and 382 biological processes in topological, GO, and KEGG enrichment analysis of the protein interaction network, and in the comprehensive analysis, it was found that Zuomua Decoction could reduce blood pressure by regulating renin angiotension aldosterone system, balancing the concentration of intracellular calcium and sodium ions and regulating vasoconstriction and relaxation. ACE, AGTR1, and ADRB2 were used as the carriers for molecular docking study on the components of Zuoma Decoction, and the results showed that the chemical components of Zuomua Decoction had a good binding activity with key targets. The purpose of this study is to provide ideas for the in-depth study of Zuoma Decoction in the treatment of hypertension, and provide scientific basis for its clinical rational application.

Study on components efficacy of Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma based on systematic traditional Chinese medicine / 中国中药杂志

This paper aimed to establish efficacy systems of tanshinones and salvianolic acids, two representative substances in Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma by using literature mining and biological network construction, based on systematic traditional Chinese medicine theory. The systematic study on the efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine was carried out from the basic unit, the structure and relationship between the basic units, the boundary of the research object and the function of the system, so as to explain the overall efficacy of the two kinds of components at the molecular level. Firstly, we collected the elements of the efficacy systems of these two kinds of components by literature mining, and defined their boundaries based on biological processes. After that, the structure of the efficacy systems was clarified according to the relationship in the KEGG database. Finally, the function of the efficacy systems was analyzed from the level of pharmacology, pharmacodynamics, and efficacy, revealing the scientific connotation of traditional Chinese medicine efficacy system. The results showed that there were 201 targets(elements), 12 target sets(boundary), and 12 pathway networks(structure) in salvianolic acids' efficacy system. Meanwhile, there were 189 targets(elements), 11 target sets(boundary), and 11 pathway networks(structure) in tanshinones' efficacy system. The results suggested that the functions of salvia-nolic acids' and tanshinones' efficacy systems were different in pharmacology and pharmacodynamics from aspects of elements, boundary, relationship and structure, but they were same in functional level as both of them could promote blood circulation, remove blood stasis, clear away heart-fire, relieve restlessness, and soothe the nerves. Based on systematic traditional Chinese medicine, we constructed the efficacy system of two representative components in Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma in this paper, elucidated the overall efficacy and builded the bridge between reductionism and holism in traditional Chinese medicine.

Discovery and application of traditional Chinese medicine efficacy markers based on systematic traditional Chinese medicine / 中国中药杂志

The quality marker(Q-marker) of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) is a new concept of TCM quality control proposed in recent years. It is a hot issue in the research of modern Chinese medicine. The TCM efficacy is a high-level summary of the TCM therapeutic effect under the guidance of TCM theory. On this basis, it is of considerable significance to explore the TCM efficacy marker for the TCM modernization. However, the traditional research strategy based on the single herb and decoction piece in macro TCM level, or the drug research strategy based on the biological effect of the targets, is quite different from the characteristics of multiple components of TCM, as well as the weak and low-selective effect of Chinese medicine ingredients on targets. Therefore, how to select representative ingredients to characterize the TCM overall efficacy is a problematic point in establishing TCM efficacy markers. In this paper, the concept and method of Q-marker were introduced into the study of Chinese medicine efficacy. The research method for systematic TCM was used to systematically discuss the connotation of TCM efficacy markers, the principles of discovery and determination, common research ideas and techniques by taking the representative research results as an example. This study provides new ideas for the research and discovery of TCM efficacy markers.

Possible mechanisms by which Polygonati rhizoma opposes atherosclerosis based on network pharmacology and molecular docking analyses / 药学学报

Possible mechanisms by which Polygonati rhizoma opposes atherosclerosis (AS) were identified by network pharmacology and molecular docking analyses. The Traditional Chinese Medicine Database (TCMD) and the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database (TCMSP) were utilized to identify the likely active components of Polygonati rhizoma. The potential targets set of Polygonati rhizoma were predicted with the PharmaDB database and the Swiss TargetPrediction database. The targets set for AS was retrieved by OMIM, DisGeNET and NCBI Gene database. We used the STRING platform to construct a protein-protein interaction network of the intersectional targets and performed visual analysis in Cytoscape. The key targets of Polygonati rhizoma in AS were searched by network topology and the resulting GO and KEGG enrichment was analyzed by Clue GO. In addition, the key targets were verified by molecular docking in Discovery Studio 4.0. A total of 45 active ingredients and 51 potential targets were obtained in the treatment of AS. The results of the topology analysis included five key targets: serum albumin, mitogen-activated protein kinase 3, mitogen-activated protein kinase 1, proto-oncogene tyrosine-protein kinase Src and matrix metalloproteinase-9. The 131 GO items showed that the biological process mainly involved the steroid receptor, cell response to steroid stimulation, the phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase signal pathway, and others. The KEGG pathway analysis included 37 pathways, which were closely related to peroxisome proliferation activated receptor signaling pathway, platelet activation pathway, vascular endothelial growth factor pathway, hypoxia inducible factor pathway and adhesion connection pathway. The results of molecular docking proved that the combined activity of the components with potential key targets is excellent. This study proposes mechanisms by which Polygonati rhizoma might act to reverse or minimize AS and provides a scientific basis for clinical research on Polygonati rhizoma.

Preparation of a co-amorphous form of bexarotene-PVP-K30 and evaluation in rats / 药学学报

Bexarotene is a synthetic analogue of retinoic acid and exerts protective effects on the nervous system. However, low bioavailability and poor solubility of the crystal type I form severely limits the application of bexarotene in the clinic. A co-amorphous sample of bexarotene-PVP-K30 was prepared and the structure was characterized by X-ray diffraction and infrared spectroscopy. To determine the pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution of bexarotene, an LC-MS method was established to profile and quantify bexarotene in plasma and tissues of SD rats. In vitro dissolution indicated that the co-amorphous form improved the dissolution of bexarotene in pure water 4.17-fold. After rats were orally administered bexarotene or bexarotene-PVP-K30 co-amorphous (equivalent to 30 mg·kg-1 bexarotene) the AUC of bexarotene was 7 034.89 and 10 174.03 μg·L-1·h respectively, the peak time was advanced from 7.33 h to 0.9 h with the amorphous form, and Cmax was enhanced from 627.76 to 3 011.88 μg·L-1. The co-amorphous form yielded higher concentrations of bexarotene in various tissues, especially brain, liver and kidney. Animal welfare and experimental procedures complied with the rules of the Animal Ethics Committee of the Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. The results indicate that bexarotene-PVP-K30 co-amorphous improves the pharmacokinetic characteristics of bexarotene and provides preclinical data in support of bexarotene-PVP-K30 for the treatment of brain diseases.

Early intervention with Di-Dang Decoction prevents macrovascular fibrosis in diabetic rats by regulating the TGF-β1/Smad signalling pathway / 中国天然药物

Macroangiopathy is a complication of Type II Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM), which is mainly caused by fibrosis of blood vessels. Using T2DM rat models, we investigated whether the traditional Chinese medicine, Di-Dang Decoction (DDD), exhibited anti-fibrotic actions on great vessels. T2DM rats were randomly divided into non-intervention group, early-, middle-, late-stage DDD intervention groups and control groups, including pioglitazone group and aminoguanidine group. After administration of DDD to T2DM rats at different times, we detected the amount of extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition in the thoracic aorta. The results showed that early-stage intervention with DDD could effectively protect great vessels from ECM deposition. Considering that TGF-β1 is the master regulator of fibrosis, we further validated at the molecular level that, compared to middle- and late-stage intervention with DDD, early-stage intervention with DDD could significantly decrease the expression levels of factors related to the activated TGF-β1/Smad signalling pathway, as well as the expression levels of downstream effectors including CTGF, MMP and TIMP family proteins, which were directly involved in ECM remodelling. Therefore, early-stage intervention with DDD can reduce macrovascular fibrosis and prevent diabetic macroangiopathy.

Study on mechanism of Tibetan medicine Zuomua Decoction in treatment of hypertension based on network pharmacology and molecular docking technology / 中国中药杂志

Hypertension is a kind of chronic cardiovascular system disease caused by a series of factors and carriers dysfunction, which belongs to the category of Tibetan medicine "Chalong disease", and has a high rate of disability and mortality. Zuomua Decoction is a classical Tibetan medicine for Chalong disease, but its mechanism is not clear. Therefore, in this paper we explored the multi-components, multi-targets and multi-channels mechanism of Zuomua Decoction in the treatment of hypertension based on network pharmacology and molecular docking technology. First of all, the chemical components of Zuomua Decoction were obtained in the retrieval of traditional Chinese medicine systems pharmacology database(TCMSP), China National Knowledge Infrastructure(CNKI) and Wanfang database. The potential targets of Zuomua Decoction were predicted by BATMAN-TCM database, and the targets of hypertension were obtained by using DisGeNET database. The intersection of these two targets set was taken to obtain the potential targets of Zuomua Decoction in the treatment of hypertension, and then the chemical compositions-targets network was constructed. Secondly, the intersection targets were imported into STRING database to obtain the interaction relationship of intersection targets, and the protein interaction network of Zuomua Decoction in the treatment of hypertension was constructed in Cytoscape. Topological, GO, and KEGG enrichment analysis were used to construct the key targets-signal pathways-biological processes network diagram and explore the mechanism of Zuomua Decoction in the treatment of hypertension. Finally, the key targets were selected to construct the pharmacodynamic identification models to verify the effect mode of Zomua Decoction in treating hypertension. The results showed that there were 61 chemical components and 90 potential targets in the compounds-targets network. We obtained 21 key targets, 154 signal pathways, and 382 biological processes in topological, GO, and KEGG enrichment analysis of the protein interaction network, and in the comprehensive analysis, it was found that Zuomua Decoction could reduce blood pressure by regulating renin angiotension aldosterone system, balancing the concentration of intracellular calcium and sodium ions and regulating vasoconstriction and relaxation. ACE, AGTR1, and ADRB2 were used as the carriers for molecular docking study on the components of Zuoma Decoction, and the results showed that the chemical components of Zuomua Decoction had a good binding activity with key targets. The purpose of this study is to provide ideas for the in-depth study of Zuoma Decoction in the treatment of hypertension, and provide scientific basis for its clinical rational application.

Evaluation of antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects of aqueous extract of Armadillidium vulgare Latreille / 中国结合医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To assess the antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory properties of the aqueous extract of Armadillidium vulgare (AV).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The antinociceptive effect of AV (400, 600 and 800 mg/kg) was investigated in mice using the acetic acid-induced writhing, formalin-induced nociceptive, and hot plate tests. Phlogogen-induced paw edema using carrageenan, dextran, or compound 48/80 as phlogogen was used as inflammatory models to evaluate AV's anti-inflammatory effect. Additionally, the bioactive substances glucosamine (GLcN) and taurine in AV were determined using high-performance liquid chromatography.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Oral treatment of the mice with AV (600 and 800 mg/kg) significantly reduced the number of writhes in the acetic acid-induced writhing test (P<0.01) but not the hot plate test (P>0.05). All doses tested significantly inhibited paw-withdrawal during the second phase of the formalin-induced nociceptive model (P<0.01). AV demonstrated a strong anti-inflammatory effect in all those inflammatory models (P<0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>AV has antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects, providing scientific evidence of the efficacy of its traditional use in pain treatment. Furthermore, GLcN and taurine contribute, at least in part, to the anti-inflammatory activity of AV.</p>