基于网络药理学方法的黄芩现代药理活性挖掘及其作用机制分析

Investigation of the pharmacological activity and mechanism of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi based on the network pharmacology method for explaining its traditional effect

采用高效液相色谱-电喷雾-四级杆-飞行时间质谱仪对黄芩水煎液中化学成分进行识别,发现水煎液中主要含有8种黄酮类成分。进一步采用网络药理学方法对8种化合物可能的作用靶点及其相关疾病进行了预测,发现黄芩除了与已报道的抗炎、抗肿瘤等疾病相关,还与水肿、中毒、高血压、出血、心脏病等多种疾病相关,这与黄芩传统功效的泻火解毒、止血的功效相近。通过通路富集分析,发现黄芩可能主要是通过调节代谢通路、脂肪细胞代谢通路、花生四烯酸代谢、5-羟色胺突触、精氨酸生物合成、钙离子信号通路发挥其多重药理活性。研究表明,网络药理学研究方法可为中药传统功效的挖掘及其药理机制研究提供新的方向。

In this study, the chemical constituents of a standard decoction of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi are identified by using high-performance liquid chromatography, electrospray ionization, and quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. It can be observed that the Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi decoction mainly contains eight flavonoids. The possible targets of the eight flavonoids and their related diseases are predicted by using the network pharmacology method. Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi not only exhibits anti-inflammatory and anticancer activities but also exhibits other various pharmacological activities in case of other instances such as edema, poisoning, hypertension, hemorrhage, and heart diseases. Based on pathway enrichment analysis, Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi can be observed to exert multiple pharmacological activities mainly by regulating the metabolic pathway, the adipocyte metabolic pathway, the arachidonic acid metabolism, 5-hydroxytryptamine synapse, the arginine biosynthesis, and the calcium signaling pathway. The results demonstrate that the network pharmacology method can be used in case of the pharmacological mechanism of traditional Chinese medicine, providing distinct explanation for its biological effects.