Deciphering the underlying mechanisms of Diesun Miaofang in traumatic injury from a systems pharmacology perspective

Mol Med Rep. 2015 Aug;12(2):1769-76. doi: 10.3892/mmr.2015.3638. Epub 2015 Apr 16.

Abstract

Diesun Miaofang (DSMF) is a traditional herbal formula, which has been reported to activate blood, remove stasis, promote qi circulation and relieve pain. DSMF holds a great promise for the treatment of traumatic injury in an integrative and holistic manner. However, its underlying mechanisms remain to be elucidated. In the present study, a systems pharmacology model, which integrated cluster ligands, human intestinal absorption and aqueous solution prediction, chemical space mapping, molecular docking and network pharmacology techniques were used. The compounds from DSMF were diverse in the clusters and chemical space. The majority of the compounds exhibited drug-like properties. A total of 59 compounds were identified to interact with 16 potential targets. In the herb-compound-target network, the majority of compounds acted on only one target; however, a small number of compounds acted on a large number of targets, up to a maximum of 12. The comparison of key topological properties in compound-target networks associated with the above efficacy intuitively demonstrated that potential active compounds possessed diverse functions. These results successfully explained the polypharmacological mechanism underlying the efficiency of DSMF for the treatment of traumatic injury as well as provided insight into potential novel therapeutic strategies for traumatic injury from herbal medicine.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Cluster Analysis
  • Databases, Chemical
  • Drugs, Chinese Herbal / chemistry*
  • Drugs, Chinese Herbal / metabolism
  • Drugs, Chinese Herbal / pharmacology
  • Humans
  • Intestinal Mucosa / metabolism
  • Medicine, Chinese Traditional
  • Solubility
  • Wound Healing / drug effects

Substances

  • Drugs, Chinese Herbal