ABSTRACT
Objective:To analyze the known mechanism of toxicology and predict the unknown toxicity in Asari Radix et Rhizoma sinensis by establishing the network relationship of compound, protein, gene and toxicant reaction. Method:After comparing the Asari Radix et Rhizoma candidate compounds obtained from the traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform(TCMSP) database and the toxicological information obtained from the Comparative Toxicogenomics Database(CTD) database, we screened out 13 toxic components from Asari Radix et Rhizoma. And use the Pharm Mapper Server website to find the detailed information of target proteins of the 13 components. The network structure of these 13 chemical components and their corresponding target proteins were drawn by using Cytospace software, and several target proteins with the highest degree of association were found. ClueGO+CluePedia plug-in of Cytospace software was applied in gene ontology(GO) enrichment analysis of genes and kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes(KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis, so as to determine the pathways through which toxic substances in Asari Radix et Rhizoma might be harmful to human body. Result:The toxic substances in Asari Radix et Rhizoma may induce tumor and cancer formation through p53 signaling pathway, interleukin(IL)-17 signaling pathway, nuclear factor(NF)-kappa B signaling pathway, tumor necrosis factor(TNF)-signaling pathway. Asari Radix et Rhizoma could inhibit the central nervous system by regulating apoptosis pathways and neurons, and may also cause other autoimmune diseases by IL-17, TNF-α pathway and apoptosis regulation. Conclusion:This study preliminarily explores related mechanisms of toxicity of Asari Radix et Rhizoma,this method can be used to predict toxicity and explain toxicity mechanism of traditional Chinese medicine.