Exploring the Potential Role of Massa Medicata Fermentata in Alcoholic Liver Injury Disease Based on Network Pharmacology and Animal Experiments

Comb Chem High Throughput Screen. 2024 Jan 25. doi: 10.2174/0113862073278353231226100219. Online ahead of print.

Abstract

Background: ALD is a chronic liver disease caused by chronic excessive alcohol consumption, for which there are no drugs with better efficacy. Ancient literature and modern studies have shown that Massa Medicata Fermentata (MMF) has a hangover effect and ameliorates hepatic inflammation, so we believe that MMF has a potential role in the treatment of alcoholic liver disease.

Methods: UPLC-Q-Orbitrap HRMS was used to characterize the chemical constituents in MMF. The database was utilized to collect targets for the components and diseases, and cross-targeting analysis of the targets was performed. PPI, KEGG, GO enrichment analysis and molecular docking were performed using the core cross-targeting information to preliminarily validate the mechanism of action of MMF on disease. Finally, animal validation was carried out using male KM mice of the alcoholic liver injury model.

Results: MMF could play a role in the therapeutic prevention of alcoholic liver disease through the core targets AKT1, TNF, TP53, IL6 and CASP3 to regulate cancer pathways, lipid, and atherosclerosis, targeting IL-17 signaling, TNF signaling pathway, and hepatitis C, which was confirmed by animal pharmacodynamic experiments.

Conclusion: This study serves as a rationale to support MMF in the treatment of ALD and meets the urgent need for clinical treatment of ALD. At the same time, it broadens the scope of clinical application of MMF.

Keywords: ALT.; AST; Massa medicata fermentata; UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap HRMS; alcoholic liver disease; molecular docking; network pharmacology.