Comparative study on composition regularities of Chinese materia medica formulas for four kinds of emmeniopathies by data-driven approach / 中草药

ABSTRACT

To study and compare the composition regularities of Chinese materia medica (CMM) formulas for four kinds of emmeniopathies, including irregular menstruation, dysmenorrhea, amenorrhea, and uterine bleeding, and contribute to the interpretation and prescription of composition mechanism for the optimization of CMM formulas by using a data-driven approach. A total of 1 761 CMM formulas from the Dictionary of Chinese Medicine Prescription for emmeniopathies were analyzed by the data mining method of Apriori algorithm with the indicators of support, confidence, and lift. The frequencies, composition regularities, and pivotal compositions of CMM were analyzed comparatively. Angelicae Sinensis Radix (ASR), Chuanxiong Rhizoma (CR), CR-ASR, Paeoniae Radix Alba (PRA)-ASR, and PRA-CR-ASR were higher commonly used CMM and CMM combinations for all the four emmeniopathies. Astragali Radix was the highest frequently used CMM for uterine bleeding. Persicae Semen (PS), Rhei Radix et Rhizoma, and PS-ASR were the frequently used CMM and CMM combinations for amenorrhea. Cyperi Rhizoma and Cyperi Rhizoma-ASR were the frequently used CMM and CMM combinations for dysmenorrhea. The latent association rules with significant lift included Hirudo→Tabanus and Olibanum→Myrrha for irregular menstruation, and Sappan Lignum→Carthami Flos and Tabanus→Hirudo for amenorrhea. Based on the CMM formulas from the Dictionary of Chinese Medicine Prescription, the data-driven approach revealed the similarities and differences in CMM compositions for the four emmeniopathies and uncovered the latent composition regularities and the pivotal CMM effectively.