Network Pharmacology Analysis of Xiaoyan Tuire Granules on Heat-Clearing and Anti-Inflammatory Effects and Determination of Its Main Components / 中药新药与临床药理

ABSTRACT

Objective To analyze the heat-clearing and anti-inflammatory mechanism of Xiaoyan Tuire Granules by network pharmacology,and to determine the 8 main active components of Xiaoyan Tuire Granules by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry(UPLC-MS/MS).Methods SwissTargetPrediction database was used to screen the target of components absorbed in the blood of Xiaoyan Tuire Granules.The main target of disease was obtained by CTD database,and the protein-protein interaction(PPI)was analyzed by String platform.GO and KEGG enrichment analysis were conducted using the DAVID database,followed by the construction of the components-targets-pathways network using Cytoscape software.Finally,the molecular docking verification of the key compound-target was conducted.The main active components in Xiaoyan Tuire Granules,including indirubin,isoliquiritigenin,liquiritigenin,glycyrrhizinic acid,liquiritin,esculetin,caffeic acid and chlorogenic acid,were determined by UPLC-MS/MS method.Analysis was performed on a WATERS ACQUITY UPLC? BEH C18 column(2.1 mm×100 mm,1.7 μm)with gradient elution of 0.1%formate in acetonitrile(A)-0.1%formate-5 mmol·L-1 ammonium formate(B),and the determination was carried out in multiple reaction monitoring(MRM)mode.Results Sixteen potential active components,such as indirubin,esculetin,and caffeic acid were identified by network pharmacology and molecular docking,and 10 core targets including transcription factor AP-1(JUN),adhesive connexin β1(CTNNB1)and cysteine aspartic protease-3(CASP3)were predicted.The pathway enrichment analysis revealed that heat-clearing and anti-inflammatory effects of Xiaoyan Tuire Granules were mainly related to signaling pathways such as interleukin-17(IL-17)and hypoxia-induced cause-1(HIF-1).Molecular docking experiments showed that its main active components docked well with core targets.The results of content determination exhibited that all components had good linear relationship within certain concentration range(r＞0.999),good precision,repeatability,and stability.The contents of 8 components in 16 batches of samples were 0.94-3.41,0.99-5.61,0.80-5.84,85.48-141.11,4.30-10.09,152.35-271.80,11.31-26.94,1.99-5.58 μg·g-1,respectively.The contents of indirubin,isoliquiritigenin,liquiritigenin,liquiritin,and chlorogenic acid in Xiaoyan Tuire Granules from two manufacturers were significantly different.Conclusion This study preliminarily revealed the mechanism of Xiaoyan Tuire Granules,which exerted heat-clearing and anti-inflammatory effects through multiple components,targets and pathways.A method for the determination of multiple components in Xiaoyan Tuire Granules was established.This study may provide a reference for its pharmacological research and quality control.