Protective Effects and Mechanisms of Yinchen Linggui Zhugan Decoction in HFD-Induced Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Rats Based on Network Pharmacology and Experimental Verification

Frontiers in Pharmacology

Hui Jiang¹  Junxiang Li¹  Haixiao Han¹  Tangyou Mao¹  Yuyue Liu¹  Lei Shi¹  Yuan Cheng¹  Zhongmei Sun¹  Xiao Han¹  Yang Zhang¹  Jiali Wang¹  Yi Guo²  Xiang Tan⁴ 

[1] Dongfang Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China;Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China;School of Graduate, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China;Shenzhen Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Shenzhen, China;

关键词: Yinchen Linggui Zhugan decoction;    nonalcoholic fatty liver disease;    traditional Chinese medicine;    experimental verification;    network pharmacology;    molecular docking;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fphar.2022.908128

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common chronic liver disease, characterized by excessive accumulation of hepatocyte fat. However, there is no exact and effective pharmacotherapy for NAFLD. Yinchen linggui zhugan decoction (YLZD) has been widely used to treat NAFLD. Nevertheless, its pharmacological and molecular mechanisms have not been clearly elucidated. This study was carried out to investigate the active components of YLZD and explore its potential mechanisms for treating NAFLD by network pharmacology and experimental verification. The results showed that a total of 120 active components of YLZD and 365 targets were retrieved through databases, and the main active ingredients of YLZD consisted of chlorogenic acid, emodin, aloe-emodin, rhein, and geniposide. KEGG enrichment analysis revealed fundamental roles of TNF, PI3K/AKT, HIF-1α, and insulin resistance signaling pathways in the treatment of NAFLD by YLZD. Moreover, our experimental verification results showed that YLZD improved the liver pathological and cholesterol level, and reduced the expressions of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, NF-κB, CCL2, and CXCL10 in NAFLD rats, which all belonged to TNF signaling pathway. The molecular docking confirmed the correlation between the four core components (chlorogenic acid, emodin, rhein, and geniposide) and key factors (TNF-α, IL-6, and NF-κB) in TNF signaling pathway. In conclusion, the present study systematically clarified the protective mechanisms of YLZD against NAFLD through targeting the TNF signaling pathway, and provided new ideas for the drug research of this disease.

【 授权许可】

Unknown