Investigation on Compatibility Characteristics and Mechanism of Baimai Ointment in Intervening "White Vein" by Integrating Bioinformatics Analysis and Prescription Rule Discovery / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To explore the mechanism and compatibility characteristics of Baimai ointment （BMO） in the treatment of white vein disease from the network perspective based on system theory， so as to provide biological basis for its clinical application. Method:The chemical components and the corresponding candidate target spectra of BMO were obtained from The Encyclopedia of Traditional Chinese Medicine （ETCM） and Integrative Pharmacology-based Research Platform of Traditional Chinese Medicine （TCMIP）. According to the clinicopathological characteristics of white vein disease， focusing on four diseases/symptoms including neuropathic pain， inflammatory pain， chronic pain and lumbar disc herniation root neuralgia， the gene sets related to white vein disease were collected in Human Phenotype Ontology （HPO）， DisGeNET and other databases， then the interaction network of the targets of active components in BMO-gene sets related to white vein disease was constructed. On this basis， the hub network nodes were selected and enriched for exploring the mechanism of four functional groups of BMO in the treatment of white vein disease such as Huoxue Tongluo group （Curcumae Longae Rhizoma， Moschus， Tronae）， Xingqi Zhitong group （Myristicae Semen， Nardostachyos Radix et Rhizoma， Acori Calami Rhizoma）， Wenjing Sanhan Tongluo group （Zingiberis Rhizoma， Zanthoxyli Pericarpium， Caraway） and Jianpi Wenshen Qianggu group （Actinolite， Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma）. Result:The enriched pathways of the four functional groups in BMO were mainly distributed in three modules of nervous system function， inflammation-immune system regulation and body energy metabolism， and each module was connected by common target genes especially had its own focus. Among them， the regulation of nervous system function in Huoxue Tongluo group and Xingqi Zhitong group could be summarized as Huoxue Buqi and Xingshen Kaiqiao. Xingqi Zhitong group and Jianpi Wenshen Qianggu group were mainly used to promote the operation of Qi， promote blood metaplasia， enhance immunity and maintain the regulation of inflammation-immune system. Jianpi Wenshen Qianggu group and Wenjing Sanhan Tongluo group mainly regulated body energy metabolism by invigorating the spleen and supplementing Qi as well as warm-heat medicine. The whole formula focused on the multi-dimensional and multi-level mechanism of BMO in the intervention of white vein disease. Each functional group emphasized its respective characteristics in nervous system function， inflammation-immune regulation， and body energy metabolism. Two types of networks analysis models complemented and verified each other. Conclusion:BMO plays a role in the treatment of white vein disease mainly by regulating the function of nervous system， maintaining the balance of inflammation-immune system and interfering with energy metabolism. The relevant research results can provide reference for the in-depth exploration of the mechanism of BMO， and help to guide the clinical rational use of this preparation.