Comparative study on the gastrointestinal- and immune- regulation functions of Hedysari Radix Paeparata Cum Melle and Astragali Radix Praeparata cum Melle in rats with spleen-qi deficiency, based on fuzzy matter-element analysis

Multi-omics integrated analyses indicated that non-polysaccharides of Sijunzi decoction ameliorated spleen deficiency syndrome via regulating microbiota-gut-metabolites axis and exerted synergistic compatibility

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

As a classical traditional Chinese medicine formula to invigorating spleen and replenishing qi, Sijunzi decoction (SJZD) is composed of four herbs, which is applied to cure spleen deficiency syndrome (SDS) clinically. The non-polysaccharides (NPSs) of SJZD (SJZD_NPS) are important pharmacodynamic material basis. However, the amelioration mechanism of SJZD_NPS on SDS has not been fully elaborated. Additionally, the contribution of herbs compatibility to efficacy of this formula remains unclear.

AIM OF THE STUDY

The aim was to explore the underlying mechanisms of SJZD_NPS on improving SDS, and uncover the scientific connotation in SJZD compatibility.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A strategy integrating incomplete formulae (called "Chai-fang" in Chinese) comparison, pharmacodynamics, gut microbiome, and metabolome was employed to reveal the role of each herb to SJZD compatibility against SDS. Additionally, the underlying mechanism harbored by SJZD_NPS was further explored through targeted metabolomics, network pharmacology, molecular docking, pseudo-sterile model, and metagenomics.

RESULTS

SJZD_NPS significantly alleviated diarrhea, disordered secretion of gastrointestinal hormones and neurotransmitters, damage of ileal morphology and intestinal barrier in SDS rats, which was superior to the NPSs of Chai-fang. 16S rRNA gene sequencing and metabolomics analyses revealed that SJZD_NPS effectively restored the disturbed gut microbiota community and abnormal metabolism caused by SDS, showing the most evident recovery. Moreover, SJZD_NPS recalled the levels of partial amino acids, short chain fatty acids and bile acids, which possessed strong binding affinity towards potential targets. The depletion of gut microbiota confirmed that the SDS-amelioration efficacy of SJZD_NPS is dependent on the intact gut microbiome, with the relative abundance of potential probiotics such as Lactobacillus_johnsonii and Lactobacillus_taiwanensis been enriched.

CONCLUSION

NPSs in SJZD can improve SDS-induced gastrointestinal-nervous system dysfunction through regulating microbiota-gut-metabolites axis, with four herbs exerting synergistic effects, which indicated the compatibility rationality of SJZD.

Network pharmacology and experimental verification reveal the mechanism of Hedysari Radix and Curcumae Rhizoma with the optimal compatibility ratio against colitis-associated colorectal cancer

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

The herb pair Astragali Radix (AR) and Curcumae Rhizoma (vinegar-processed, VPCR), derived from the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) text 'Yixuezhongzhongcanxilu', have long been used to treat gastrointestinal diseases, notably colitis-associated colorectal cancer (CAC). Hedysari Radix (HR), belonging to the same Leguminosae family as AR but from a different genus, is traditionally used as a substitute for AR when paired with VPCR in the treatment of CAC. However, the optimal compatibility ratio for HR-VPCR against CAC and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear.

AIM OF THE STUDY

To investigate the optimal compatibility ratio and underlying mechanisms of HR-VPCR against CAC using a combination of comparative pharmacodynamics, network pharmacology, and experimental verification.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The efficacy of different compatibility ratios of HR-VPCR against CAC was evaluated using various indicators, including the body weight, colon length, tumor count, survival rate, disease activity index (DAI) score, Haemotoxylin and Eosin (H&E) pathological sections, inflammation cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, IL-10, TNF-α), tumor markers (K-Ras, p53), and intestinal permeability proteins (claudin-1, E-cadherin, mucin-2). Then, the optimal compatibility ratio of HR-VPCR against CAC was determined based on the fuzzy matter-element analysis by integrating the above indicators. After high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis for the optimal compatibility ratio of HR-VPCR, potential active components of HR-VPCR were identified by TCMSP and the previous bibliographies. Swiss Targets and GeneCards were adopted to predict the targets of the active components and the targets of CAC, respectively. Then, the common targets of HR-VPCR against CAC were obtained by Venn analysis. PPI networks were constructed in STRING. GO and KEGG enrichments were visualized by the David database. Finally, the predicted pathway was experimentally validated via Western blot.

RESULTS

Various compatibility ratios of HR-VPCR demonstrated notable therapeutic effects to some extent, evidenced by improvements in body weight, colon length, tumor count, pathological symptoms (DAI score), colon and organ indexes, survival rate, and modulation of inflammation factors (IL-1β, IL-6, IL-10, TNF-α), as well as tumor markers (K-Ras, p53), and down-regulation of intestinal permeability proteins (claudin-1, E-cadherin, mucin-2) in CAC mice. Among these ratios, the ratio 4:1 represents the optimal compatibility ratio by the fuzzy matter-element analysis. Thirty active components of HR-VPCR were carefully selected, targeting 553 specific genes. Simultaneously, 2022 targets associated with CAC were identified. 88 common targets were identified after generating a Venn plot. Following PPI network analysis, 29 core targets were established, with AKT1 ranking highest among them. Further analysis via GO and KEGG enrichment identified the PI3K-AKT signaling pathway as a potential mechanism. Experimental validation confirmed that HR-VPCR intervention effectively reversed the activated PI3K-AKT signaling pathway.

CONCLUSIONS

The optimal compatibility ratio for the HR-VPCR herb pair in alleviating CAC is 4:1. HR-VPCR exerts its effects by alleviating intestinal inflammation, improving intestinal permeability, and regulating the PI3K-AKT signaling pathway.

Identifications of metabolic differences between Hedysari Radix Praeparata Cum Melle and Astragali Radix Praeparata Cum Melle for spleen-qi deficiency rats: A comparative study

Hedysari Radix Praeparata Cum Melle (HRPCM) and Astragali Radix Praeparata Cum Melle (ARPCM) are capable of improving spleen-qi deficiency (SQD) syndrome especially in the gastrointestinal dysfunction and decreased immunity in traditional Chinese medicine clinically. This study aims to compare and reveal the metabolic differences between HRPCM and ARPCM for SQD rats. Firstly, HRPCM (12.6 g/kg) and ARPCM (12.6 g/kg) were used to intervene SQD rats to further evaluate the effect. The results showed that HRPCM and ARPCM were able to improve the spleen pathology, increase the body weight, the rectal temperature, the spleen index, the thymus index, the levels of GAS and D-xylose in serum, and decrease the levels of IL-2, IL-6 and TNF-α in serum for SQD rats. Then, the studies of metabolic differences in serum and spleen were carried out using UPLC-Q-TOF-MS. The findings emphasized that HRPCM and ARPCM not only regulated metabolic profiling of serum and spleen in SQD rats, but also existed differences. HRPCM and ARPCM regulated metabolic pathways mainly including lipid metabolism, energy metabolism, amino acid metabolism, nucleotide metabolism, sugar metabolism and other types of metabolism for SQD rats. However, the metabolite profiles in SQD rats changed significantly, mainly involving abnormal glycine synthesis occurred in SQD rats. The expression trends of metabolites in HRPCM and ARPCM intervention for SQD rats were partly the same. Interestingly, there are similarities and differences in metabolic profiling between HRPCM and ARPCM for SQD rats. The differences were mainly in the synthesis of L-glutamine in amino acid metabolism.

Flavonoids contribute most to discriminating aged Guang Chenpi (Citrus reticulata 'Chachi') by spectrum-effect relationship analysis between LC-Q-Orbitrap/MS fingerprint and ameliorating spleen deficiency activity

To further explore the mechanism of "the longer storage time, the better bioactivity" of aged Guang Chenpi, the dry pericarp of Citrus reticulata 'Chachi' (CRC), a series of activity assessments were performed on spleen deficiency mice. The constituents in CRC with different storage years were analyzed by LC-Q-Orbitrap/MS. A total of 53 compounds were identified, and CRC stored for more than 5 years showed higher flavonoid content, especially that of polymethoxyflavones. Anti-spleen deficiency bioactivity analysis among various CRC with different storage years showed aged CRC (stored for more than 3 years) could significantly alleviate fatigue and depression behaviors much better, increase D-xylose and gastrin secretion, and upregulate the expression of the linking protein occludin in the colon walls. Results from 16S rDNA sequencing showed that aged CRC could downregulate the abundance of Enterococcus, Gemmata, Citrobacter, Escherichia_Shigella, and Klebsiella, which were significantly overrepresented in the model group. Bacteroides, Muribaculum, Alloprevotella, Paraprevotella, Alistipes, Eisenbergiella, and Colidextribacter were downregulated in the model group but enriched in the CRC groups. At last, the spectrum-effect relationship analysis indicated that flavonoids such as citrusin III, homoeriodictyol, hesperidin, nobiletin, and isosinensetin in aged CRC showed the highest correlation with better activity in ameliorating spleen deficiency by regulating gut microbiota. Flavonoids contribute most to discriminating aged CRC and could disclose the basis of "the longer storage time, the better bioactivity" of aged Guang Chenpi.

Discrimination of Radix Astragali from Different Growth Patterns, Origins, Species, and Growth Years by an H1-NMR Spectrogram of Polysaccharide Analysis Combined with Chemical Pattern Recognition and Determination of Its Polysaccharide Content and Immunological Activity

The fraud phenomenon is currently widespread in the traditional Chinese medicine Radix Astragali (RA) market, especially where high-quality RA is substituted with low-quality RA. In this case, focused on polysaccharides from RA, the classification models were established for discrimination of RA from different growth patterns, origins, species, and growth years. 1H Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (H1-NMR) was used to establish the spectroscopy of polysaccharides from RA, which were used to distinguish RA via chemical pattern recognition methods. Specifically, orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) were used to successfully establish the classification models for RA from different growth patterns, origins, species, and growth years. The satisfactory parameters and high accuracy of internal and external verification of each model exhibited the reliable and good prediction ability of the developed models. In addition, the polysaccharide content and immunological activity were also tested, which was evaluated by the phagocytic activity of RAW 264.7. And the result showed that growth patterns and origins significantly affected the quality of RA. However, there was no significant difference in the aspects of origins and growth years. Accordingly, the developed strategy combined with chemical information, biological activity, and multivariate statistical method can provide new insight for the quality evaluation of traditional Chinese medicine.

A screening strategy for bioactive components of Bu-Zhong-Yi-Qi-Tang regulating spleen-qi deficiency based on "endobiotics-targets-xenobiotics" association network

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Bu-Zhong-Yi-Qi-Tang is a famous traditional Chinese medicine formula that has been prevalent in China for over 700 years to treat spleen-qi deficiency related diseases, such as gastrointestinal and respiratory disorders. However, the bioactive components responsible for regulating spleen-qi deficiency remain unclear and have puzzled many researchers.

AIM OF THE STUDY

The current study focuses on efficacy evaluation of regulating spleen-qi deficiency and screening the bioactive components of Bu-Zhong-Yi-Qi-Tang.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The effects of Bu-Zhong-Yi-Qi-Tang were evaluated through blood routine examination, immune organ index, and biochemical analysis. Metabolomics was utilized to analyze the potential endogenous biomarkers (endobiotics) in the plasma, and the prototypes (xenobiotics) of Bu-Zhong-Yi-Qi-Tang in the bio-samples were characterized using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry. Then, these endobiotics were used as "bait" to predict targets based on network pharmacology and to screen potential bioactive components from the absorbed prototypes in the plasma by constructing an "endobiotics-targets-xenobiotics" association network. Further, the anti-inflammatory activities of representative compounds (calycosin and nobiletin) were validated through poly(I:C)-induced pulmonary inflammation mice model.

RESULTS

Bu-Zhong-Yi-Qi-Tang exhibited immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory activities in spleen-qi deficiency rat, as supported by the observation of increased levels of D-xylose and gastrin in serum, an increase in the thymus index and number of lymphocytes in blood, as well as a reduction in the level of IL-6 in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Furthermore, plasma metabolomic analysis revealed a total of 36 Bu-Zhong-Yi-Qi-Tang related endobiotics, which were mainly enriched in primary bile acids biosynthesis, the metabolism of linoleic acid, and the metabolism of phenylalanine pathways. Meanwhile, 95 xenobiotics were characterized in plasma, urine, small intestinal contents, and tissues of spleen-qi deficiency rat after Bu-Zhong-Yi-Qi-Tang treatment. Using an integrated association network, six potential bioactive components of Bu-Zhong-Yi-Qi-Tang were screened. Among them, calycosin was found to significantly reduce the levels of IL-6 and TNF-α in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, increase the number of lymphocytes, while nobiletin dramatically decreased the levels of CXCL10, TNF-α, GM-CSF, and IL-6.

CONCLUSION

Our study proposed an available strategy for screening bioactive components of BYZQT regulating spleen-qi deficiency based on "endobiotics-targets-xenobiotics" association network.

A mechanism of Sijunzi decoction on improving intestinal injury with spleen deficiency syndrome and the rationality of its compatibility

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Sijunzi Decoction (SJZD) is a renowned formula for the treatment of spleen deficiency syndrome (SDS) in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Its non-polysaccharides (NPS) component, dominated by various compounds of SJZD, has shown the remarkable efficacy in SDS, especially in gastrointestinal injury. However, the principle of compatibility of SJZD and the micro-mechanism of effect on SDS are still unclear.

AIM OF THE STUDY

To elucidate the scientific implications of SJZD compatibility and its micro-mechanism in the treatment of SDS-induced intestinal injury.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

First, the chemical composition of NPS in SJZD and incomplete SJZD (iSJZD, including SJZD-R, SJZD-A, SJZD-P, SJZD-G) were comprehensively analyzed by UPLC-QTOF-MS, and comparing their chemical composition by multivariate statistical analysis to reveal the effect of a single herb on SJZD compatibility. Second, network pharmacology and molecular docking were used to uncover the micro-mechanisms of potential active compounds in SJZD for the treatment of SDS, and develop an active component combination (ACC) by accurate quantification. Subsequently, the action of the potential active compounds and ACC was verified through in vivo and in vitro.

RESULTS

A total of 112, 77, 93, 87, and 67 compounds were detected in NPS of SJZD, SJZD-R, SJZD-A, SJZD-P, and SJZD-G, respectively. Changes in the chemical components of SJZD_NPS and iSJZD_NPS revealed that RG and RAM, as well as RAM and Poria significantly affected the dissolution of each other's chemical components, and the co-decoction of four herbs promoted the dissolution of the active compounds and inhibited toxic compounds. Furthermore, network pharmacology showed that 274 compounds of 15 categories in SJZD_NPS acted on the 186 key targets to treat SDS by inhibiting inflammation, enhancing immunity, and regulating gastrointestinal function and metabolism. Finally, through in vitro experiments, six compounds among 18 potential compounds were verified to markedly repair intestinal epithelium injury by modulating the FAK/PI3K/Akt or LCK/Ras/PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. It is worth mentioning that ACC, composed of 11 compounds accurately quantified, demonstrated significant in vivo treatment effects on intestinal damage with SDS similar to NPS or SJZD.

CONCLUSIONS

This study elucidates the scientific evidence of the "Jun-Chen-Zuo-Shi" and "detoxification and synergistic" in the decocting process of SJZD. An ACC, the active component of SJZD, ameliorate SDS-induced intestinal injury by the FAK/PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, which provides a strategy for screening alternatives to effective combinations of TCMs.