Metabolomics and molecular docking to compare of the efficacies of wild-simulated and transplanted Astragali Radix based on its compatibility with Angelicae Sinensis Radix against blood deficiency

Abstract

Astragali Radix (AR) has been widely used as bulk medicines in China. Currently, there are mainly two types in the market, wild-simulated AR (WAR) and transplanted AR (TAR). The present work was designed to compare their effects in treatment of blood deficiency with its compatibility with Angelicae Sinensis Radix, a classical formula Danggui Buxue decoction (DBD). UHPLC-Q-Exactive-MS-based serum metabolomics was firstly applied to compare their metabolic regulations in blood deficiency mice. Metabolic results showed that 17 metabolites were closely related to blood deficiency. WAR-DBD and TAR-DBD significantly improved 13 and 8 metabolites among them, respectively. Further, fourteen genes were selected as promising targets for treating blood deficiency by searching GeneCards and CTD database. The results of molecular docking also showed that eight components of AR and three serum metabolites had strongest correlations with blood deficiency targets. The results further revealed that WAR-DBD was better than TAR-DBD against blood deficiency. The method provided a new way to compare the hematopoietic differences of AR of different cultivation methods. In addition, molecular docking plays an irreplaceable role in explaining the molecular mechanism of biological processes.