Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Qi-Invigorating Effects in Traditional Medicine: Network Pharmacology-Based Study on the Unique Functions of Qi-Invigorating Herb Group

Abstract

Qi-invigorating herbs (QIHs) are a group of herbs that invigorate Qi, the most vital force for maintaining the physiological functions of the human body in traditional medicine. However, the mechanism underlying the Qi-invigorating effects remains unclear. This study aimed to elucidate the unique mechanisms of QIHs based on unique compounds, using a network pharmacology approach. QIHs and their compounds were identified using existing literature and the TCMSP database, respectively. Subsequently, a method was proposed to screen for unique compounds that are common in QIHs but rare in other traditional herbs. Unique compounds’ targets were predicted using the TCMSP, BATMAN-TCM, and SwissTargetPrediction databases. Finally, enriched GO and KEGG pathways were obtained using DAVID to uncover the biomolecular functions and mechanisms. Thirteen unique compounds, mainly including amino acids and vitamins that participate in energy metabolism and improve Qi deficiency syndrome, were identified among the eight QIHs. GO and KEGG pathway analyses revealed that these compounds commonly participate in neuroactive ligand–receptor interaction and the metabolism of amino acids, and are related to the components of mitochondria and neuronal cells. Our results appropriately reflect the characteristics of traditional Qi-invigorating effects; therefore, this study facilitates the scientific interpretation of Qi functions and provides evidence regarding the treatment effectiveness of QIHs.

Identifying target organ location of Radix Achyranthis Bidentatae: a bioinformatics approach on active compounds and genes

“…The mechanisms underlying herbs and prescriptions have been revealed and further detailed through “multi-target–multi-pathway” paradigms of network pharmacology ( Liang et al, 2014 ; Zhang et al, 2019 ; Tran and Lee, 2022 ). These methods are also useful for understanding specific concepts of traditional medicine at the molecular scale such as the synergism of herbal pairs ( Wang et al, 2017 ), or the Qi and Blood-tonifying effects of a group of herbs ( Sun et al, 2016 ; Tran et al, 2022 ). The common feature of these studies is that the molecular mechanisms were determined using databases to generate large gene sets of interest analyses.…”