Mechanism of anti-fatigue of Astragali Radix based on network pharmacology / 中草药

ABSTRACT

Objective: To explore the anti-fatigue mechanism of Astragali Radix based on network pharmacology. Methods: The main active ingredients of Astragali Radix were obtained by TCMSP and the results of our previous work. GeneCards and OMIM were used to predict and screen the therapeutic targets of Astragali Radix. The Cytoscape 3.6.0 software was used to construct the active components-targets network of Astragali Radix. The protein interactions network was constructed using the String database and Cytoscape software. The GO and KEGG pathways involved in the targets were analyzed by using DAVID database. Results: The results showed that 11 active components including six flavonoids (calycosin-7-O-β-D-glucoside, calycosin, ononin, formononetin,7,2’-dihydroxy-3,4-dimethoxyisoflavan, 3-hydroxy-9,10-dimethoxypterocarpan), four saponins (astragaloside I, II, III, IV) and sucrose and 76 targets of Astragali Radix were involved. The network analysis results showed that the process of nitric oxide biosynthesis, hydrogen peroxide reaction, positive regulation on brown adipocyte differentiation, and active oxygen metabolism were mainly involved by adjusting the cancer, FoxO, PI3K-Akt, HIF-1, VEGF, MAPK and other signaling pathways to exert its antifatigue effect. Conclusion: This study reflects the characteristics of multi-components, multi-targets, and multi-pathways of Astragali Radix, which provides new ideas and clues for further research on the mechanism of anti-fatigue effects of Astragali Radix.