Can network pharmacology identify the anti-virus and anti- inflammatory activities of Shuanghuanglian oral liquid used in Chinese medicine for respiratory tract infection?

Abstract

Introduction: Shuanghuanglian (SHL) oral liquid is a well-known traditional Chinese medicine preparation administered for respiratory tract infections in China. However, the underlying pharmacological mechanisms remain unclear. The present study aims to determine the potential pharmacological mechanisms of SHL oral liquid based on network pharmacology. Methods: A network pharmacology-based strategy including collection and analysis of putative compounds and target genes, network construction, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway, and Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment, identification of key compounds and target genes, and molecule docking was performed in this study. Results: A total of 82 bioactive compounds and 226 putative target genes of SHL oral liquid were collected. Of note, 28 hub target genes including 4 major hub target genes: estrogen receptor 1 (ESR1), nuclear receptor coactivator 2 (NCOA2), nuclear receptor coactivator 1 (NCOA1), androgen receptor (AR) and 5 key compounds (quercetin, luteolin, baicalein, kaempferol and wogonin) were identified based on network analysis. The hub target genes mainly enriched in pathways including PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, human cytomegalovirus infection, and human papillomavirus infection, which could be the underlying pharmacological mechanisms of SHL oral liquid for treating diseases. Moreover, the key compounds had great molecule docking binding affinity with the major hub target genes. Conclusion: Using network pharmacology analysis, SHL oral liquid was found to contain anti-virus, anti-inflammatory, and "multi-compounds and multi-targets" with therapeutic actions. These findings may provide a valuable direction for further clinical application and research. 1. Background SHL oral liquid is a well-known traditional Chinese medicine preparation frequently applied to treat acute upper respiratory tract infection, acute bronchitis, and pneumonia [1]. SHL oral liquid is derived from three Chinese medicinal herbs, namely, Flos Lonicerae (Jinyinhua, JYH), Radix Scutellariae (Huangqin, HQ), and Fructus Forsythiae (Lianqiao, LQ), which were officially recorded in the Chinese

Integrating Study on Qualitative and Quantitative Characterization of the Major Constituents in Shuanghuanglian Injection with UHPLC/Q-Orbitrap-MS and UPLC-PDA

“…For example, estrogen signaling pathway, TNF signaling pathway, T-cell receptor signaling pathway, and B cell receptor signaling pathway were closely related to anti-inflammatory and immunoreactive activities. Meanwhile, the antibacterial and antiviral activity could be explicitly unscrambled from influenza A and tuberculosis signaling pathways [24,25]. All the predictions were highly consistent with the efficacy of SHLI in clearing heat and detoxifying, indicating the scientific nature and rationality of this study.…”

An Investigation of the Molecular Mechanisms Underlying the Analgesic Effect of Jakyak‐Gamcho Decoction: A Network Pharmacology Study

“…en, the molecular docking scores between the chemical compounds and the targets were assessed using AutoDock Vina [111]. Of note, a certain chemical compound is regarded as having high binding affinity to a target if the corresponding docking score is less than or equal to −5.0 [112,113].…”

Investigating the active compounds and mechanism of HuaShi XuanFei formula for prevention and treatment of COVID-19 based on network pharmacology and molecular docking analysis

“…Network pharmacology is a key method that integrates computer science and medicine to evaluate the molecular mechanisms of TCM. Several studies have shown that network pharmacology, molecular docking, and molecular dynamic simulation were effective to explore the underlying mechanisms and active compounds of TCM formula [ 15 , 16 ]. In this study, we aim to discover the active compounds and explore the potential mechanisms of HSXFF to cure COVID-19 by integrating network pharmacology and molecular docking.…”