Chemical profiling and network pharmacology of classic herbal prescription Baihe Dihuang Decoction / 中草药

ABSTRACT

Objective: To analyze the chemical composition and predict the pharmacological mechanism of Baihe Dihuang Decoction by chromatography-mass spectrometry and network pharmacology. Methods: LC/MS and GC/MS were used to analyze the chemical components of Baihe Dihuang Decoction. The target information of chemical components was collected by TCMSP database. TTD and CTD databases were used to collect diseases associated with targets, and depression was targeted for screening. Cytoscape software was carried out to draw “chemical composition-target-disease” network diagram, KEGG pathway analysis of target was performed by DAVID online analysis and its pharmacodynamic components and mechanism were explored. Results: A total of 52 chemical constituents were obtained by chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis. The 31 targets corresponding to 25 components in Baihe Dihuang Decoction by network pharmacology were associated with depression. Conclusion: Baihe Dihuang Decoction has the effect of “multi-directional pharmacology” and “superimposition” in the treatment of depression, reflecting the characteristics of the complex system of traditional Chinese medicine. It may play a role in the treatment of depression by acting on 31 targets, regulating the signaling pathway and participating in inflammatory reaction, apoptosis, and neurotransmitter regulation.