ABSTRACT
Objective: Osteoporosis has become the biggest cause of non-fatal health issue. Currently, the limitations of traditional anti-osteoporosis drugs such as long-term ill-effects and drug resistance, have raised concerns toward complementary and alternative therapies, particularly herbal medicines and their natural active compounds. Thus, this study aimed to provide an integrative analysis of active chemicals, drug targets and interacting pathways of the herbs for osteoporosis treatment. Methods: Here, we introduced a systematic pharmacology model, combining the absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) screening model, drug targeting and network pharmacology, to probe into the therapeutic mechanisms of herbs in osteoporosis. Results: We obtained 86 natural compounds with favorable pharmacokinetic profiles and their 58 targets from seven osteoporosis-related herbs. Network analysis revealed that they probably synergistically work through multiple mechanisms, such as suppressing inflammatory response, maintaining bone metabolism or improving organism immunity, to benefit patients with osteoporosis. Furthermore, experimental results showed that all the five compounds (calycosin, asperosaponin VI, hederagenin, betulinic acid and luteolin) enhanced osteoblast proliferation and differentiation in vitro, which corroborated the validity of this system pharmacology approach. Notably, gentisin and aureusidin among the identified compounds were first predicted to be associated with osteoporosis. Conclusion: Herbs and their natural compounds, being characterized as the classical combination therapies, might be engaged in multiple mechanisms to coordinately improve the osteoporosis symptoms. This work may contribute to offer novel strategies and clues for the therapy and drug discovery of osteoporosis and other complex diseases.
ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the influence of 14- day simulated weightlessness on emotional behaviour in rats.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Sixteen from twenty male SD rats were selected and assigned to a 2-group design: the control group and the tail suspension (TS) group (n = 8). The essay deployed typical methods for assessing emotional activity in the current, including food-intake and body weight variation, open field testing, sucrose preference testing and the evaluation of emotional arousal level to test emotional behavior.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>1. After 14- day simulated weightlessness for rats, their food-intake and body weight increase were less than those in the control group. 2. The ability of movement reduced in rats, the number of locomotion was significantly lower than that in the control group (P < 0.05) and the frequency of self-grooming was significantly higher than that in the control group(P <0.01. 3. A higher level of emotionality in TS group was recorded. 4. Sucrose preference was not observed in TS group.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>It demonstrated depression, anxiety and nervous symptom occurred in the TS rats with a certain degree of nervous reaction but no anhedonia.</p>