Compatibility law of Astragali Radix formulae and molecular mechanism of core herbal pair “Astragali Radix-Angelica Sinensis” / 中草药

ABSTRACT

Objective: To screen out the molecular mechanism of core herbal pair “Astragali Radix-Angelica Sinensis” for treating consumptive disease by using the Traditional Chinese Medicine Inheritance Support System (TCMISS) and network pharmacology. Methods: The prescriptions and commonly used compatibility combinations containing Astragali Radix, and their main treatment of diseases were excavated from TCMISS database, and the core compatibility of “Astragali Radix-Angelica Sinensis” against consumptive disease was illustrated. The herb-ingredients-targets network was constructed through network pharmacology referring to Batman-TCM, GeneCards, OMIM, and so on. Meanwhile, the topology, cluster analysis, GO, and KEGG pathways analysis of the targets were performed. Results: TCMISS database contained totally 459 prescriptions containing Astragali Radix involving 641 herbs. “Astragali Radix-Angelica Sinensis” was the core compatibility for the treatment of consumptive disease, which was consistent with ancient record and clinical medication. The results also showed that the process of immune response, oxidative stress, and signal transduction were its mainly molecular mechanism, by adjusting the pathways in cancer, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway to play its treating consumptive disease effect. Conclusion: The paper revealed the molecular mechanism of “Astragali Radix-Angelica Sinensis”, and provided theoretical basis and reference for the follow-up study of Astragali Radix and its prescriptions.