Effcacy-oriented compatibility for Tianma (), Yanlingcao () and Bingpian () on improving cerebral ischemia stroke by network pharmacology and serum pharmacological methods.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the compatibility of Tianma (, TM), Yanlingcao (, YLC) and Bingpian (, BP), and their efficacy in the treatment of cerebral ischemic stroke.

METHODS

Network pharmacology was used to determine the compatibility of TM, YLC, and BP, and their potential mechanism. The middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) rat model was used to evaluate the curative effect of the six combinations of TM, YLC, and BP (TZB1-TZB6) on cerebral ischemia, by using the weight matching method to form. The potential component changes of TM and YLC in the blood and brains of rats were analyzed using ultra performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Finally, molecular docking linked the results of animal experiments and network pharmacology, determining the potential component contributors of TM and YLC to treating ischemic stroke.

RESULTS

TZB reduced the cerebral infarct volume and protected the nerve cells in MCAO rats. The components of TM and YLC were also identified in the blood and brain homogenate, and BP can facilitate the entry of the components of TM and YLC into the blood and brain. Diosgenin, pennogenin, and gastrodin induced effective binding activities with adenosine receptor a1.

CONCLUSION

We investigate an approach that improves the means of folk prescription combined with multi technology that maybe promote the transformation of Chinese medicinal prescription into component-based Chinese medicine.