Protective mechanism of Paeoniae Radix Alba against chemical liver injury based on network pharmacology,molecular docking,and in vitro experiments

Objective:To explore and validate the potential targets of Paeoniae Radix Alba(P.Radix,Bai Shao)in protecting against chemical liver injury through network pharmacology,molecular docking technology,and in vitro cell experiments.Methods:Network pharmacology was used to identify the common potential targets of P.Radix and chemical liver injury.Molecular docking was used to fit the components,which were subsequently verified in vitro.A cell model of hepatic fibrosis was established by activating hepatic stellate cell(HSC)-LX2 cells with 10 ng/mL transforming growth factor-β1.The cells were exposed to different concentrations of total glucosides of paeony(TGP),the active substance of P.Radix,and then evaluated using the cell counting kit-8 assay,enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay,and western blot.Results:Analysis through network pharmacology revealed 13 key compounds of P.Radix,and the potential targets for preventing chemical liver injury were IL-6,AKT serine/threonine kinase 1,jun protooncogene,heat shock protein 90 alpha family class A member 1(HSP90AA1),peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma(PPARG),PTGS2,and CASP3.Gene Ontology(GO)enrichment analysis indicated the involvement of response to drugs,membrane rafts,and peptide binding.Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG)enrichment analysis revealed that the main pathways involved lipid and atherosclerosis and chemical carcinogenesis-receptor activation.Paeoniflorin and albiflorin exhibited strong affinity for HSP90AA1,PTGS2,PPARG,and CASP3.Different concentrations of TGP can inhibit the expression of COL-I,COL-III,IL-6,TNF-a,IL-1β,HSP-90a,and PTGS2 while increasing the expression of PPAR-γand CASP3 in activated HSC-LX2 cells.Conclusion:P.Radix primarily can regulate targets such as HSP90AA1,PTGS2,PPARG,CASP3.TGP,the main active compound of P.Radix,protects against chemical liver injury by reducing the inflammatory response,activating apoptotic proteins,and promoting the apoptosis of activated HSCs.

Radix Paeoniae Alba attenuates Radix Bupleuri-induced hepatotoxicity by modulating gut microbiota to alleviate the inhibition of saikosaponins on glutathione synthetase

Radix Bupleuri(RB)is commonly used to treat depression,but it can also lead to hepatotoxicity after longterm use.In many anti-depression prescriptions,RB is often used in combination with Radix Paeoniae Alba(RPA)as an herb pair.However,whether RPA can alleviate RB-induced hepatotoxicity remain unclear.In this work,the results confirmed that RB had a dose-dependent antidepressant effect,but the optimal antidepressant dose caused hepatotoxicity.Notably,RPA effectively reversed RB-induced hepatotoxicity.Afterward,the mechanism of RB-induced hepatotoxicity was confirmed.The results showed that saikosaponin A and saikosaponin D could inhibit GSH synthase(GSS)activity in the liver,and further cause liver injury through oxidative stress and nuclear factor kappa B(NF-kB)/NOD-like receptor thermal protein domain associated protein 3(NLRP3)pathway.Furthermore,the mechanisms by which RPA attenuates RBinduced hepatotoxicity were investigated.The results demonstrated that RPA increased the abundance of intestinal bacteria with glycosidase activity,thereby promoting the conversion of saikosaponins to saikogenins in vivo.Different from saikosaponin A and saikosaponin D,which are directly combined with GSS as an inhibitor,their deglycosylation conversion products saikogenin F and saikogenin G exhibited no GSS binding activity.Based on this,RPA can alleviate the inhibitory effect of saikosaponins on GSS activity to reshape the liver redox balance and further reverse the RB-induced liver inflammatory response by the NFkB/NLRP3 pathway.In conclusion,the present study suggests that promoting the conversion of saikosaponins by modulating gut microbiota to attenuate the inhibition of GSS is the potential mechanism by which RPA prevents RB-induced hepatotoxicity.

白芍(Radix paeoniae alba)提取物对中华绒螯蟹(Eriocheir sinensis)造血组织发育及造血因子Astakine的影响

血淋巴细胞在甲壳动物免疫反应中起着非常重要的作用,其主要由造血组织(Hematopoietic tissue,HPT)生成并随着开管式循环分布到身体各处。到目前为止,还没有相关研究表明甲壳动物造血组织是否受草本植物的影响。本研究以中华绒螯蟹(Eriocheir sinensis)为对象,利用荧光定量PCR、免疫荧光和组织化学等技术,初步探索了白芍(Radix paeoniae alba)提取物对中华绒螯蟹造血组织和造血因子Astakine的影响。结果显示,在原代培养的造血组织细胞中添加终浓度为0.85 mg/mL的白芍提取物后,造血因子Astakine mRNA的表达量显著上调(P<0.05)。进一步制备含1%白芍提取物的中华绒螯蟹饲料并进行饲喂实验,结果显示饲喂含白芍提取物饲料的中华绒螯蟹造血组织的Astakine mRNA的表达量较饲喂前上调了10.5倍,要高于对照组。免疫荧光结果同样表明,饲喂含白芍提取物饲料后中华绒螯蟹造血组织的Astakine蛋白荧光信号也要强于对照组。通过造血组织的形态学观察和造血组织体重百分比的检测,我们发现白芍组中华绒螯蟹造血组织含有较多卵形小叶,且造血组织体重百分比较饲喂前增加了6.64%,而对照组仅增加1.6%。免疫保护率实验显示,在脂多糖急性刺激下,白芍添加组的中华绒螯蟹的存活率(77.5%)要高于对照组(57.5%)。综上所述,白芍提取物可以促进中华绒螯蟹造血因子的表达和造血组织的发育,从而提高中华绒螯蟹的免疫调节功能。

Identification of metabolites of Radix Paeoniae Alba extract in rat bile, plasma and urine by ultra-performance liquid chromatography–quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry （UPLC-Q-TOF/MS） was developed to identify the absorbed parent components and metabolites in rat bile, plasma and urine after oral administration of Radix Paeoniae Alba extract （RPAE）. A total of 65 compounds were detected in rat bile, plasma and urine samples, including 11 parent compounds and 54 metabolites. The results indicated that glucuronidation, hydroxylation and methylation were the major metabolic pathways of the components of RPAE. Furthermore, the results of this work demonstrated that UPLC-Q-TOF/MS combined with MetaboLynx？ software and mass defect filtering （MDF） could provide unique high throughput capabilities for drug metabolism study, with excellent MS mass accuracy and enhanced MSE data acquisition. With the MSE technique, both precursor and fragment mass spectra can be simultaneously acquired by alternating between high and low collision energy during a single chromatographic run.

Evaluation of Baishao(Radix Paeoniae Alba)and Chishao(Radix Paeoniae Rubra)from different origins based on characteristic spectra of amino acids

Objective To evaluate the difference between Baishao(Paeoniae Radix Alba,PRA)and Chishao(Paeoniae Radix Rubra,PRR)from different regions based on the characteristic spectra of amino acids(AAs).Methods Fingerprints of the 21 standard AAs were established using O-phthalaldehyde-9-fluorenylmethyl chloroformate(OPA-FMOC)pre-column derivation method.The AA components in PRA and PRR were characterized qualitatively and quantitatively,and different AAs were screened using pattern recognition technology.Results Twelve AAs were identified in both PRA and PRR.Meanwhile,aspartic acid,glutamic acid,arginine,alanine,and gamma-aminobutyric acid were screened as characteristic components,and their concentrations could effectively distinguish PRA from PRR.Conclusion The established characterization method,which is based on the characteristic spectra of AAs,is accurate,efficient,and sensitive and can effectively distinguish between PRA and PRR from different producing areas,thus providing a reference for the overall characterization and evaluation of Chinese medicinal materials.

Rapid monitoring the water extraction process of Radix Paeoniae Alba using near infrared spectroscopy

Near infrared(NIR)spectroscopy has been developed into one of the most important process analytical techniques(PAT)in a wide field of applications.The feasibility of NIR spectroscopy with partial least square regression(PLSR)to monitor the concentration of paeoniflorin,albi-florin,gallic acid,and benzoyl paeoniforin during the water extraction process of Radix Paeoniae Alba was demonstrated and verified in this work.NIR spectra were collected in transmission mode and pretreated with smoothing and/or derivative,and then quantitative models were built up using PLSR.Interval partial least squares(iPLS)method was used for the selection of spectral variables.Determination coeficients(R2aI and R2red),root mean squares error of prediction(RMSEP),root mean squares error of calibration(RMSEC),and residual predictive deviation(RPD)were applied to verify the performance of the models,and the corresponding values were 0.9873 and 0.9855,0.0487 mg/mL,0.0545mg/mL and 8.4 for paeoniforin;0.9879,0.9888,0.0303 mg/mL,0.0321 mg/mL and 9.1 for albiflorin;0.9696,0.9644,0.0140 mg/mL,0.0145 mg/mL and 5.1 for gallic acid;0.9794,0.9781,0.00169 mg/mL,0.00171 mg/mL and 6.9 for benzoyl paeoniflorin,respectively.The results turned out that this approach was very efficient and environmentally friendly for the quantitative monitoring of the water extraction process of Radix Paeoniae Alba.

Network pharmacology-based analysis of the mechanism of Radix Paeoniae Alba against Toosendan Fructus-induced hepatotoxicity

Objective:Objective:To analyze and explore the key targets and molecular mechanisms of action of Radix Paeoniae Alba against Toosendan Fructus-induced hepatotoxicity and the relationship between corresponding compounds based on network pharmacology.Methods:Using network pharmacology,a"traditional Chinese medicine-chemical composition-key target-pathway"analysis was conducted on Radix Paeoniae Alba for the treatment of Toosendan Fructus-induced hepatotoxicity.The possible mechanism of action was analyzed in terms of function.Results:The core targets,such as interleukin(IL)-6,tumor necrosis factor(TNF),heat shock protein 90 alpha family class A member 1(HSP90AA1),peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma(PPARG),prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2(PTGS2),heme oxygenase 1(HMOX1),Jun proto-oncogene(JUN),caspase-3,estrogen receptor 1(ESR1),and aryl hydrocarbon receptor(AHR)were screened from the targets of Radix Paeoniae Alba against Toosendan Fructus-induced hepatotoxicity.Biological process(BP)of toxic targets(BP terms)involved"response to drug;activation of cysteine-type endopeptidase activity involved in apoptotic process,”positive regulation of transcription.Cellular components(CC terms)mainly involved cytosol and membrane rafts.Molecular function(MF)terms included"protein homodimerization activity,"RNA polymerase II transcription factor activity and enzyme binding,etc."The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG)pathway included the TNF signaling pathway,cancer pathways,and apoptosis.Conclusion:Radix Paeoniae Alba might alleviate Toosendan Fructus-induced hepatotoxicity through IL6,TNF,HSP90AA1,PPARG,PTGS2,HMOX1,and other targets,possibly via the activation of cysteine-type endopeptidase activity involved in these pathways.

Analysis of the influence of processing of bran stir-baking on the main components of Paeoniae Radix Alba-Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma herbal pair by high-performance liquid chromatography

The crude and processed Paeoniae Radix Alba-Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma herbal pairs, originated from Bai-zhu-shao-yao-san, are used to treat different diseases clinically. In order to evaluate the crude and processed Paeoniae Radix-Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma herbal pairs, a simple, easy, and sensitive high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with diode array detectors was developed for simultaneous determination of nine bioactive components in the herbal pairs. The calibration curve exhibited good linearity（r2≥0.9992）. The LODs and LOQs were ≤7.30 and 11.53 μg/m L, respectively. The intra-, inter-day and repeatability RSD values of the nine compounds were less than 3.86%, 2.71%, and 4.29%, respectively. The RSD stability values were less than 3.64%. The recovery of the method was in the range of 96.70%–102.10%, with RSD values less than 3.52%. The developed method can be applied to the intrinsic quality control of crude and processed Paeoniae Radix-Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma herbal pairs.

A strategy of screening and binding analysis of bioactive components from traditional Chinese medicine based on surface plasmon resonance biosensor

Elucidating the active components of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)is essential for understanding the mechanisms of TCM and promote its rational use as well as TCM-derived drug development.Recent studies have shown that surface plasmon resonance(SPR)technology is promising in this field.In the present study,we propose an SPR-based integrated strategy to screen and analyze the major active components of TCM.We used Radix Paeoniae Alba(RPA)as an example to identify the compounds that can account for its anti-inflammatory mechanism via tumor necrosis factor receptor type 1(TNF-R1).First,RPA extraction was analyzed using an SPR-based screening system,and the potential active ingredients were collected,enriched,and identified as paeoniflorin and paeonol.Next,the affinity constants of paeoniflorin and paeonol were determined as 4.9 and 11.8 mM,respectively.Then,SPR-based competition assays and molecular docking were performed to show that the two compounds could compete with tumor necrosis factor-a(TNF-a)while binding to the subdomain 1 site of TNF-R1.Finally,in biological assays,the two compounds suppressed cytotoxicity and apoptosis induced by TNF-a in the L929 cell line.These findings prove that SPR technology is a useful tool for determining the active ingredients of TCM at the molecular level and can be used in various aspects of drug development.The SPR-based integrated strategy is reliable and feasible in TCM studies and will shed light on the elucidation of the pharmacological mechanism of TCM and facilitate its modernization.

Network Pharmacology-based Analysis of the Mechanism of Action of the Herb Pair Chai Hu-Bai Shao

Objective To analyze the mechanism of action and compatibility of the active compounds of the traditional herb pair Bupleuri Radix(Chai Hu,CH,柴胡)-Paeoniae Radix Alba(Bai Shao,BS,白芍).Methods All chemical compounds related to CH and BS were retrieved from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform(TCMSP),Traditional Chinese Medicine Integrated Database(TCMID),Bioinformatics Analysis Tool for Molecular mechANism of Traditional Chinese Medicine(Batman-TCM),Traditional Chinese Medicine Database@Taiwan(TCM Database@Taiwan),and the literature.Relevant compounds were screened for oral bioavailability(OB),drug-likeness(DL),and the Caco-2 cell model.The Uniprot,Genecard,and CTD databases were used to obtain information on potential targets and diseases of associated compounds.Based on this,Cytoscape 3.2.1 software,GO enrichment analysis,and KEGG pathway enrichment were used to analyze the potential mechanism of action and pathways of the CH-BS drug combination.Results A total of 23 active compounds of CH and BS were indentified after meeting specific criteria by network pharmacology,showing 79 predicted targets of active compounds.Among them,all targets were associated with 344 diseases,and the compounds in CH and BS were connected to 94 pathways and biological,such as calcium signaling pathway,neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction and TNF signaling pathway.Conclusions Our results preliminarily validated the main compounds in CH-BS herb pair interacted with multiple targets in different diseases,and the molecular mechanism of these compounds involves multiple pathways,thereby establishing a good foundation for further studies.

Profiling and identification of chemical components of Shenshao Tablet and its absorbed components in rats by comprehensive HPLC/DAD/ESI-MS^n analysis

Shenshao Tablet(SST),prepared from Paeoniae Radix Alba(PRA)and total ginsenoside of Ginseng Stems and Leaves(GSL),is a traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)preparation prescribed to treat coronary heart disease.However,its chemical composition and the components that can migrate into blood potentially exerting the therapeutic effects have rarely been elucidated.We developed an HPLC/DAD/ESI-MS^n approach aiming to comprehensively profile and identify both the chemical components of SST and its absorbed ingredients(and metabolites)in rat plasma and urine.Chromatographic separation was performed on an Agilent Eclipse XDB C_(18) column using acetonitrile/0.1% formic acid as the mobile phase.MS detection was conducted in both negative and positive ESI modes to yield more structure information.Comparison with reference compounds(t_R,MS^n),interpretation of the fragmentation pathways,and searching of in-house database,were utilized for more reliable structure elucidation.A total of 82 components,including 21monoterpene glycosides,four galloyl glucoses,two phenols from PRA,and 55 ginsenosides from GSL,were identified or tentatively characterized from the 70% ethanolic extract of SST.Amongst them,seven and 24 prototype compounds could be detectable in the plasma and urine samples,respectively,after oral administration of an SST extract(4 g×kg^(–1))in rats.No metabolites were observed in the rat samples.The findings of this work first unveiled the chemical complexity of SST and its absorbed components,which would be beneficial to understanding the therapeutic basis and quality control of SST.