Abstract
Rhizome of Curcuma wenyujin, which is called EZhu in China, is a traditional Chinese medicine used to treat blood stasis for many years. However, the underlying mechanism of EZhu is not clear at present. In this study, plasma metabolomics combined with network pharmacology were used to elucidate the therapeutic mechanism of EZhu in blood stasis from a metabolic perspective. The results showed that 26 potential metabolite markers of acute blood stasis were screened, and the levels were all reversed to different degrees by EZhu preadministration. Metabolic pathway analysis showed that the improvement of blood stasis by Curcuma wenyujin rhizome was mainly related to lipid metabolism (linoleic acid metabolism, ether lipid metabolism, sphingolipid metabolism, glycerophospholipid metabolism, and arachidonic acid metabolism) and amino acid metabolisms (tryptophan metabolism, lysine degradation). The component-target-pathway network showed that 68 target proteins were associated with 21 chemical components in EZhu. Five metabolic pathways of the network, including linoleic acid metabolism, sphingolipid metabolism, glycerolipid metabolism, arachidonic acid metabolism, and steroid hormone biosynthesis, were consistent with plasma metabolomics results. In conclusion, plasma metabolomics combined with network pharmacology can be helpful to clarify the mechanism of EZhu in improving blood stasis and to provide a literature basis for further research on the therapeutic mechanism of EZhu in clinical practice.
Highlights
Blood stasis syndrome (BSS), which results in retardation or cessation of blood flow, is widely known as Xueyu Zheng in China [1]
Plasma metabolomics combined with the network pharmacology method provides a powerful approach to study the therapeutic mechanisms of Curcuma wenyujin rhizome (EZ) on blood stasis
The pharmacological results showed that EZ could effectively improve hemorheology, coagulation function, and other related indicators in blood stasis model rats
Summary
Blood stasis syndrome (BSS), which results in retardation or cessation of blood flow, is widely known as Xueyu Zheng in China [1]. Recent studies indicated that the possible aetiopathogenesis of BSS was relevant to the abnormality of hemorheology, including blood viscosity, blood sedimentation, erythrocyte aggregation, erythrocyte deformability, hematocrit, coagulant function, and microcirculation disturbance [2,3,4,5]. The development of BSS can lead to many kinds of diseases, including hypertension, Molecules 2019, 24, 82; doi:10.3390/molecules24010082 www.mdpi.com/journal/molecules. In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), Zheng is not merely a subclass disease, and a type of common symptom discovery in different diseases. The doctors of TCM often recognize Zheng by identifying a little difference in the same symptoms of the same disease
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