Elucidating the Synergistic Effect of Multiple Chinese Herbal Prescriptions in the Treatment of Post-stroke Neurological Damage

Anqi Xu; Zhuo-Hua Wen; Shi-Xing Su; Yu-Peng Chen; Wen-Chao Liu; Shen-Quan Guo; Xi-Feng Li; Xin Zhang; Ran Li; Ning-Bo Xu; Ke-Xin Wang; Wen-Xing Li; Dao-Gang Guan; Chuan-Zhi Duan

doi:10.3389/fphar.2022.784242

Elucidating the Synergistic Effect of Multiple Chinese Herbal Prescriptions in the Treatment of Post-stroke Neurological Damage

Front Pharmacol. 2022 Mar 9:13:784242. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2022.784242. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Anqi Xu¹, Zhuo-Hua Wen¹, Shi-Xing Su¹, Yu-Peng Chen^{2

3}, Wen-Chao Liu¹, Shen-Quan Guo¹, Xi-Feng Li¹, Xin Zhang¹, Ran Li¹, Ning-Bo Xu¹, Ke-Xin Wang^{2

3}, Wen-Xing Li^{2

3}, Dao-Gang Guan^{2

3}, Chuan-Zhi Duan¹

Affiliations

¹ Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory on Brain Function Repair and Regeneration, Department of Neurosurgery, National Key Clinical Specialty/Engineering Technology Research Center of Education Ministry of China, Neurosurgery Institute, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
² Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
³ Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Single Cell Technology and Application, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.

Abstract

Background: Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been widely used in the treatment of human diseases. However, the synergistic effects of multiple TCM prescriptions in the treatment of stroke have not been thoroughly studied. Objective of the study: This study aimed to reveal the mechanisms underlying the synergistic effects of these TCM prescriptions in stroke treatment and identify the active compounds. Methods: Herbs and compounds in the Di-Tan Decoction (DTD), Xue-Fu Zhu-Yu Decoction (XFZYD), and Xiao-Xu-Ming Decoction (XXMD) were acquired from the TCMSP database. SEA, HitPick, and TargetNet web servers were used for target prediction. The compound-target (C-T) networks of three prescriptions were constructed and then filtered using the collaborative filtering algorithm. We combined KEGG enrichment analysis, molecular docking, and network analysis approaches to identify active compounds, followed by verification of these compounds with an oxygen-glucose deprivation and reoxygenation (OGD/R) model. Results: The filtered DTD network contained 39 compounds and 534 targets, the filtered XFZYD network contained 40 compounds and 508 targets, and the filtered XXMD network contained 55 compounds and 599 targets. The filtered C-T networks retained approximately 80% of the biological functions of the original networks. Based on the enriched pathways, molecular docking, and network analysis results, we constructed a complex network containing 3 prescriptions, 14 botanical drugs, 26 compounds, 13 targets, and 5 pathways. By calculating the synergy score, we identified the top 5 candidate compounds. The experimental results showed that quercetin, baicalin, and ginsenoside Rg1 independently and synergistically increased cell viability. Conclusion: By integrating pharmacological and chemoinformatic approaches, our study provides a new method for identifying the effective synergistic compounds of TCM prescriptions. The filtered compounds and their synergistic effects on stroke require further research.

Keywords: compound-target network; neuroinflammation; stroke; synergy; traditional Chinese medicine.