Systems pharmacology reveals the unique mechanism features of Shenzhu Capsule for treatment of ulcerative colitis in comparison with synthetic drugs.

In clinic, both synthetic drugs and Shenzhu Capsule (SZC), one kind of traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs), are used to treat ulcerative colitis (UC). In our study, a systems pharmacology approach was employed to elucidate the chemical and mechanism differences between SZC and synthetic drugs in treating UC. First, the compound databases were constructed for SZC and synthetic drugs. Then, the targets of SZC were predicted with on-line tools and validated using molecular docking method. Finally, chemical space, targets, and pathways of SZC and synthetic drugs were compared. Results showed that atractylenolide I, atractylone, kaempferol, etc., were bioactive compounds of SZC. Comparison of SZC and synthetic drugs showed that (1) in chemical space, the area of SZC encompasses the area of synthetic drugs; (2) SZC can act on more targets and pathways than synthetic drugs; (3) SZC can not only regulate immune and inflammatory reactions but also act on ulcerative colitis complications (bloody diarrhea) and prevent UC to develop into colorectal cancer whereas synthetic drugs mainly regulate immune and inflammatory reactions. Our study could help us to understand the compound and mechanism differences between TCM and synthetic drugs.