A network pharmacology‐based approach to explore the effects of Chaihu Shugan powder on a non‐alcoholic fatty liver rat model through nuclear receptors

Nie H, Deng Y, Zheng C, Pan M, Xie J, Zhang Y, Yang Q · Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine · 2020 March 18

Objective

To investigate the nuclear receptor targets, active components, and therapeutic mechanisms of Chaihu Shugan powder in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease using network pharmacology, molecular docking, chemical analysis, and validation in a rat model.

Conclusions

Chaihu Shugan powder ameliorated non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in rats by improving bodyweight, hepatic histopathology, and serum and liver lipid abnormalities, with effects associated with modulation of nuclear receptor gene expression; network pharmacology effectively identified its potential components and mechanisms.

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Insights

Chaihu Shugan powder exhibits beneficial effects on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease by targeting certain genes indicating therapeutic potential in traditional Chinese medicine.

The study utilized a network pharmacology approach incorporating multiple databases, Gene Ontology enrichment analysis, a molecular complex detection method for protein-protein interaction analysis, as well as molecular docking to identify the Nuclear Receptor targets and the corresponding components in Chaihu Shugan powder. A rat model with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease was used to validate the screening results while high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry was employed to detect the five components that matched the docking experiments. The results of the study showed favourable changes in the rat model after Chaihu Shugan powder treatment. Noticeable improvements were witnessed in the model's bodyweight, liver pathology, serum and liver lipids. Also, the mRNA levels of target genes were significantly altered, indicating the potential therapeutic influence of Chaihu Shugan powder on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. This study offers valuable insight into the role of traditional Chinese medicine in treating such conditions.