Network Pharmacology and Experimental Verifications to Discover Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi’s Effects on Joint Inflammation, Destruction, and Pain in Osteoarthritis

Abstract

Osteoarthritis is the most common type of arthritis, characterized by joint pain and a decline in physiological function. Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi (SB) is potentially effective against osteoarthritis because of its wide range of anti-inflammatory pharmacological activities. This study aimed to identify the mode of action of SB against osteoarthritis using network pharmacology prediction and experimental verification. Networks were constructed to key compounds, hub targets, and pathways essential for SB’s effectiveness against osteoarthritis. Additionally, in vivo and in vitro tests were performed, including investigations on weight bearing in hind limbs, the acetic acid-induced writhing response, lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW264.7 cells, and serum cytokine responses. We identified 15 active compounds and 14 hub targets, supporting the anti-osteoarthritis effects of SB. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis indicated that fluid shear stress, atherosclerosis, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-Akt signaling, and cellular senescence pathways were important. SB showed substantial anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and joint tissue-protective effects against osteoarthritis. Our study shows that SB has the potential value to be further investigated as a candidate material for the treatment of osteoarthritis in the future.

Anti-Inflammatory, Analgesic, Functional Improvement, and Chondroprotective Effects of Erigeron breviscapus (Vant.) Hand.-Mazz. Extract in Osteoarthritis: An In Vivo and In Vitro Study

“…In the context of this research topic, the anti-inflammatory activity of natural products is particularly worthy of attention due to their low toxicity, ease of management of long-standing diseases, and multifaceted targeted modulation of inflammation by multiple active components [9][10][11]. In particular, east Asian herbal medicine (EAHM) has accumulated extensive human dosage information with historical context for hundreds of millions of people throughout East Asia and has recently been studied from a modern perspective [12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. Consequently, this group of materials has potential comparative advantages over other DMOAD natural product candidates in terms of safety and efficacy.…”