Aloe barbadensis Miller (Aloe) known as a common succulent perennial herb had been traditionally used in constipation for more than 1,000 years. Aloe contained anthraquinones and other active compounds which had laxative effect and could modulate constipation. However, the therapeutic effects and mechanisms of aloe in constipation were still unclear. To explore the therapeutic effects and mechanisms of aloe in treating constipation, we employed network pharmacology, molecular docking, and mice experiments in this study. Our network pharmacology indicated that beta-carotene, sitosterol, campest-5-en-3beta-ol, CLR, arachidonic acid, aloe-emodin, quercetin, and barbaloin were the main active ingredients of aloe in treating constipation. Besides, the MAPK signaling pathway was the principal pathway utilized by aloe in treating constipation. Molecular docking results revealed that beta-carotene and sitosterol were acting as interference factors in attenuating inflammation by binding to an accessory protein of ERK, JNK, AKT, and NF-κB p65. Otherwise, in vivo experiments, we used diphenoxylate-induced constipation mice model to explore the therapeutic effects and mechanisms of aloe. Results showed that aloe modulated the constipation mice by reducing the discharge time of first melena, improving the fecal conditions, increasing the gastric intestinal charcoal transit ratio, and improving the intestinal secretion in small intestine. Besides, aloe played an important regulation in promoting intestinal motility sufficiency and the levels of neurotransmitters balance with 5-HT, SP, and VIP on constipation mice. Moreover, aloe significantly inhibited the mRNA and proteins expressions of ERK, JNK, AKT and NF-κB p65 in colon. Our study proved that aloe could reverse diphenoxylate-induced changes relating to the intestinal motility, intestinal moisture, and inhibition of the MAPK (ERK, JNK)/AKT/NF-κB p65 inflammatory pathway. Our study provided experimental evidences of the laxative effect of aloe, which was beneficial to the further research and development of aloe.
Huoxiang Zhengqi Oral Liquid (HZOL) is a classic Chinese patent medicine used in China for more than 1,000 years in treating gastrointestinal and respiratory diseases. Clinically applied HZOL in early respiratory disease stages can reduce the proportion of lung infection patients that progress to severe acute lung injury (ALI). However, few pharmacological studies evaluated its level of protection against ALI. We explored mechanisms of HZOL against ALI by employing network pharmacology, molecular docking, and rat experiments. Firstly, network pharmacology prediction and published biological evaluation of active ingredients of HZOL suggested that HZOL exerted the protective effect in treating ALI mainly in the areas of regulation of cell adhesion, immune response, and inflammatory response and closely related to the NF-κB pathway. Secondly, molecular docking results demonstrated that imperatorin and isoimperatorin combined well with targets in the NF-κB pathway. Finally, ALI rats induced by lipopolysaccharides (LPS) were used to validate prediction after pretreatment with HZOL for 2 weeks. Results confirmed that lung and colon injury occurred in ALI rats. Furthermore, HZOL exerts anti-inflammatory effects on LPS-induced ALI and gut injury by repairing lung and colon pathology, reducing and alleviating pulmonary edema, inhibiting abnormal enhancement of thymus and spleen index, modulating hematologic indices, and increasing levels of total short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in the cecum. Additionally, abnormal accumulation of inflammatory cytokines IL-6, IL-1β, TNF-α, and IFN-γ in serum and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid was significantly reduced after pretreating with HZOL. Furthermore, HZOL downregulated the expression of TLR4, CD14, and MyD88 and phosphorylation of NF-κB p65 in lung tissue. Altogether, HZOL was found to exert an anti-inflammatory effect regulation by increasing levels of SCFAs, inhibiting the accumulation of inflammatory cytokines, and attenuating the activation of the TLR4/NF-κB p65 pathway. Our study provided experimental evidences for the application of HZOL in preventing and treating ALI.
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