Efficacy network and mechanism prediction of Chaihu Longgu Muli Decoction in treatment of essential hypertension / 中草药

ABSTRACT

Objective: To study the efficacy network and potential mechanisms of effects of Chaihu Longgu Muli Decoction in the treatment of essential hypertension by using network pharmacology methods. Methods: TCMSP, TCMID, and Stitch were used to obtain the components and their corresponding targets. PubMed, CTD, TTD, OMIM, and DrugBank were used to search disease targets of essential hypertension. The common targets between components and disease targets were screened and builded the “compound - target” efficacy network and the protein-protein interaction network by STRING and Cytoscape. The key components and core targets of Chaihu Longgu Muli Decoction in the treatment of hypertension were screened in these networks. Finally, relevant software was applied to GO analysis and pathway analysis of core targets to predict potential mechanisms. Results: A total of 137 components of Chaihu Longgu Muli Decoction and 168 targets of essential hypertension were screened. According to the analysis, quercetin, β-sitosterol, kaempferol, and stigmasterol were found as the four key components and 12 core targets such as IL-6, AKT1, and MAPK8 were found involving the Chaihu Longgu Muli Decoction-induced treatment of essential hypertension. The result of GO analysis and KEGG pathway analysis showed that the mechanisms of Chaihu Longgu Muli Decoction for treating essential hypertension were related to pathways such as activation of AP-1 family transcription factors, interleukin-10 signaling, interleukin-4 signaling, interleukin-13 signaling, the intrinsic pathway of apoptosis, and MAPK targeting/by MAP kinase-mediated nuclear events. Conclusion: The mechanisms of the effect of Chaihu Longgu Muli Decoction in the treatment of essential hypertension were through the above-mentioned “multi-components-multi-targets-multi-pathways”. This study provides a foundation for further investigation of the effective compound and specific mechanisms of Chaihu Longgu Muli Decoction in the treatment of essential hypertension.