Exploring the mechanism of Cassiae semen in regulating lipid metabolism through network pharmacology and experimental validation.

BACKGROUND: Multiple studies have assessed the role of Cassiae semen (CS) in regulating lipid metabolism. However, the mechanism of action of CS on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has seen rare scrutiny. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to explore the regulatory mechanism of CS on lipid metabolism in NAFLD. METHODS: Components of CS ethanol extract (CSEE) were analyzed and identified using UPLC-Q-Orbirap HRMS. The candidate compounds of CS and its relative targets were extracted from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology, Swiss-Target-Prediction, and TargetNet web server. The Therapeutic Target Database, Genecards, Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man, and DisGeNET were searched for NAFLD targets. Binding affinity between potential core components and key targets was established employing molecular docking simulations. After that, free fatty acid (FFA)-induced HepG2 cells were used to further validate part of the network pharmacology results. RESULTS: Six genes, including Caspase 3 (CASP3), phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate 3-kinase, catalytic subunit α (PIK3CA), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), and amyloid ß (A4) precursor protein (APP) were identified as key targets. The mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway was found to associate closely with CS's effect on NAFLD. Per molecular docking findings, toralactone and quinizarin formed the most stable combinations with hub genes. About 0.1 (vs. FFA, P<0.01) and 0.2 (vs. FFA, P<0.05) mg/ml CSEE decreased lipid accumulation in vitro by reversing the up-regulation of CASP3, EGFR, and APP and the down-regulation of PIK3CA. CONCLUSION: CSEE can significantly reduce intracellular lipid accumulation by modulating the MAPK signaling pathway to decrease CASP3 and EGFR expression.

Flipped classroom improves student learning outcome in Chinese pharmacy education: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: The application of flipped classroom (FC) pedagogy has recently become increasingly popular in Chinese pharmacy education. However, its effectiveness in improving student learning has not yet been assessed. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of teaching with such pedagogical approach by examining studies that compare the FC approach with the traditional lecture-based learning (LBL) module through a systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods: Seven databases, including the PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Scientific Journals Database, Chinese Wanfang database, and China Biomedical Literature Database, were searched from the inception to 30 June 2021, to identify eligible articles of randomized controlled studies. The primary outcomes included the theoretical and experimental test scores, and the secondary outcomes were the results from questionnaires about the number of students who preferred the FC or endorsed its improving effects on their learning enthusiasm, self-learning ability, thinking skills, communication skills, and learning efficiency. The quantitative synthesis was conducted with Revman V.5.3 software following the Cochrane Reviewer's Handbook guidelines and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement. Results: Eleven eligible studies published from 2017 to 2020 enrolling 1,200 students were included in this meta-analysis. The quantitative synthesis demonstrated that the FC module presented an overall more significant effectiveness over traditional LBL approach for Chinese pharmacy education in improving student academic performance as measured by theoretical test scores (SMD = 1.08, 95% CI: 0.60-1.56, p < 0.00001) and experimental test scores (MD = 6.62, 95% CI: 4.42-8.82, p < 0.00001). Further sub-group analysis revealed that the preferable effectiveness of FC was also evident in both theory-oriented (SMD = 0.77, 95% CI: 0.10-1.45, p < 0.00001) and experiments-oriented courses (MD = 6.52, 95% CI: 3.48-9.56, p < 0.00001) for both undergraduate (SMD = 0.84, 95% CI: 0.31-1.37, p < 0.00001) and 3-year junior-college students (MD = 8.17, 95% CI: 6.44-9.89, p < 0.00001). Additionally, analysis on the questionnaire outcomes revealed that more respondents preferred for FC and endorsed its improvement effects on developing students' learning enthusiasm, self-learning ability, thinking skills, communication skills, and learning efficiency. Conclusion: Current evidence suggests that FC pedagogical approach can effectively improve student learning outcomes and is applicable to Chinese pharmacy education.

Action Mechanism Underlying Improvement Effect of Fuzi Lizhong Decoction on Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Study Based on Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to decipher the bioactive compounds and potential mechanism of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formula Fuzi Lizhong Decoction (FLD) for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) treatment via an integrative network pharmacology approach. METHODS: The candidate compounds of FLD and its relative targets were obtained from the TCMSP and PharmMapper web server, and the intersection genes for NAFLD were discerned using OMIM, GeneCards, and DisGeNET. Then, the PPI and component-target-pathway networks were constructed. Moreover, GO enrichment and KEGG pathway analysis were performed to investigate the potential signaling pathways associated with FLD's effect on NAFLD. Eventually, molecular docking simulation was carried out to validate the binding affinity between potential core components and key targets. RESULTS: A total of 143 candidate active compounds and 129 relative drug targets were obtained, in which 61 targets were overlapped with NAFLD. The PPI network analysis identified ALB, MAPK1, CASP3, MARK8, and AR as key targets, mainly focusing on cellular response to organic cyclic compound, steroid metabolic process, and response to steroid hormone in the biological processes. The KEGG pathway analysis demonstrated that 16 signaling pathways were closely correlated with FLD's effect on NALFD with cancer pathways, Th17 cell differentiation, and IL-17 signaling pathways as the most significant ones. In addition, the molecular docking analysis revealed that the core active compounds of FLD, such as 3'-methoxyglabridin, chrysanthemaxanthin, and Gancaonin H, had a high binding activity with such key targets as ALB, MAPK1, and CASP3. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggested that FLD exerted its effect on NAFLD via modulating multitargets with multicompounds through multipathways. It also demonstrated that the network pharmacology-based approach might provide insights for understanding the interrelationship between complex diseases and interventions of the TCM formula.

One bis-indole alkaloid-voacamine from Voacanga africana Stapf: biological activity evaluation of PTP1B in vitro utilizing enzymology method based on SPRi expriment.

One known bis-indole alkaloid-voacamine was isolated from Voacanga africana Stapf and Surface Plasmon Resonance imaging (SPRi) exprement showed that this alkaloid could be combine with Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase1B (PTP1B). Then the PTP1B activity inhibition experiment display that the compound showed an outstanding promoting activity to PTP1B.