Prediction of the targets of the main components in blood after oral administration of Xanthii Fructus: a network pharmacology study

Xanthii Fructus (XF), a famous traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), has been widely used in the treatment of rhinitis and other diseases. However, the targets of the main XF components found in the blood after oral administration of XF extract are still unclear. In the current study, a feasible systems pharmacology method was developed to predict these targets. In accordance with our previous research, XF components were selected including cleomiscosin A, myristic acid, succinic acid, xanthosine, sitostenone, emodin, apigenin, and chrysophanol. Three components, namely emodin, apigenin, and chrysophanol, failed to be detected with target proteins, thus the other five components, namely cleomiscosin A, myristic acid, succinic acid, xanthosine and sitostenone, were eventually chosen for further systematic analysis. Ninety-nine target proteins and fifty-two pathways were found after a series of analyses. The frequency of some target proteins was much higher than that of others; high frequencies were obtained for P15086, P07360, P07195, MAOM_HUMAN (P23368), P35558, P35520, ACE_HUMAN (P12821), C1S_HUMAN (P09871), PH4H_HUMAN (P00439), FPPS_HUMAN (P14324), P50613, P12724, IMPA1_HUMAN (P29218), HXK1_HUMAN (P19367), P14061, and MCR_HUMAN (P08235). The frequency of eight pathways was also high, including Generic Transcription Pathway, RNA Polymerase II Transcription, Metabolism, Metabolism of steroids, Gene expression (Transcription), Cellular responses to stress, Platelet activation, signaling and aggregation, Signaling by Receptor Tyrosine Kinases, and Cellular Senescence. This study identified a common pathway – the Metabolism pathway – for all five XF components. We successfully developed a network pharmacology method to predict the potential targets of the main XF components absorbed in serum after oral administration of XF extract.