Investigation of Ginseng-Ophiopogon Injection on Enhancing Physical Function by Pharmacogenomics and Metabolomics Evaluation

Chen Meimei; Zhu Jingru; Gan Huijuan; Li Candong

doi:10.2174/0113862073244102231020050502

Investigation of Ginseng-Ophiopogon Injection on Enhancing Physical Function by Pharmacogenomics and Metabolomics Evaluation

Comb Chem High Throughput Screen. 2023 Nov 7. doi: 10.2174/0113862073244102231020050502. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Chen Meimei^{1

2}, Zhu Jingru^{1

2}, Gan Huijuan^{1

2}, Li Candong^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fuzhou 350122, Fujian, China.
² Fujian Key Laboratory of TCM Health Status Identification, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fuzhou 350122, Fujian, China.

PMID: 37957852
DOI: 10.2174/0113862073244102231020050502

Abstract

Background: Ginseng-ophiopogon injection (GOI) is a clinically commonly used drug for Qi deficiency syndrome characterized by decreased physical function in China. This study aimed to clarify common pharmacological mechanisms of GOI in enhancing physical function.

Methods: We performed an integrative strategy of weight-loaded swimming tests in cold water (5.5 °C), hepatic glycogen and superoxide dismutase (SOD) detections, GC-TOF/MS-based metabolomics, multivariate statistical techniques, network pharmacology of known targets and constituents, and KEGG pathway analysis of GOI.

Results: Compared with the control group, GOI showed significant increases in the weightloaded swimming time, hepatic levels of glycogen and SOD. Additionally, 34 significantly differential serum metabolites referred to glycolysis, gluconeogenesis and arginine biosynthesis were affected by GOI. The target collection revealed 98 metabolic targets and 50 experimentreported drug targets of ingredients in GOI involved in enhancing physical function. Further, the PPI network analysis revealed that 8 ingredients of GOI, such as ginsenoside Re, ginsenoside Rf, ginsenoside Rg1, and notoginsenoside R1, were well-associated with 48 hub targets, which had good ability in enhancing physical function. Meanwhile, nine hub proteins, such as SOD, mechanistic target of Rapamycin (mTOR), and nitric oxide synthases, were confirmed to be affected by GOI. Finally, 98 enriched KEGG pathways (P<0.01 and FDR<0.001) of GOI were obtained from 48 hub targets of the PPI network. Among them, pathways in cancer, Chagas disease, lipid and atherosclerosis, and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway ranked top four.

Conclusions: This study provided an integrative and efficient approach to understanding the molecular mechanism of GOI in enhancing physical function.

Keywords: Ginseng-Ophiopogon injection; KEGG pathway; Physical function; mTOR; metabolomics; network pharmacology.