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CC BY 4.0 · Chinese medicine and natural products 2025; 05(02): e101-e114
DOI: 10.1055/s-0045-1809682
Original Article

Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking Analysis of Fuzheng Gankang Pill in Treating Combined Allergic Rhinitis and Asthma Syndrome with Lung–Spleen Qi Deficiency and Wind–Cold Invading the Lung Syndrome

Xin Wang
1   Department of Pulmonary Diseases, Henan Integrative Medicine Hospital, Zhengzhou, Henan, China
,
Ye Pan
2   Information Department, Henan Integrative Medicine Hospital, Zhengzhou, Henan, China
,
Suhua Wang
1   Department of Pulmonary Diseases, Henan Integrative Medicine Hospital, Zhengzhou, Henan, China
,
Zhiyong Pang
1   Department of Pulmonary Diseases, Henan Integrative Medicine Hospital, Zhengzhou, Henan, China
,
Zhixin Zhao
1   Department of Pulmonary Diseases, Henan Integrative Medicine Hospital, Zhengzhou, Henan, China
,
Juntao Yan
1   Department of Pulmonary Diseases, Henan Integrative Medicine Hospital, Zhengzhou, Henan, China
,
Kaiwen Dong
1   Department of Pulmonary Diseases, Henan Integrative Medicine Hospital, Zhengzhou, Henan, China
,
Kun Li
1   Department of Pulmonary Diseases, Henan Integrative Medicine Hospital, Zhengzhou, Henan, China
,
Mingli Zhang
1   Department of Pulmonary Diseases, Henan Integrative Medicine Hospital, Zhengzhou, Henan, China
,
Junxia Zhang
1   Department of Pulmonary Diseases, Henan Integrative Medicine Hospital, Zhengzhou, Henan, China
› Institutsangaben
Funding This word was supported by Special Project of Traditional Chinese Medicine Scientific Research in Henan Province (2023ZY1024, 2022ZY1144), Special COVID-19 Research Project of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Henan Province (2022ZYFY08), Traditional Chinese Medicine Culture and Management Research Project in Henan Province (TCM2023005), and Basic Scientific Research Business Fund Project of Henan Integrative Medicine Hospital (2304025, 2304015).
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Abstract

Objective

To elucidate the mechanism of Fuzheng Gankang Pill in treating combined allergic rhinitis and asthma syndrome (CARAS) with lung–spleen qi deficiency and wind–cold invading the lung syndrome using network pharmacology and molecular docking.

Methods

The active components and targets of the 13 herbs in Fuzheng Gankang Pill were retrieved from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform (TCMSP) and HERB. A “core herb-active component–target” network was constructed using Cytoscape to screen core components. CARAS disease targets were obtained from Genecards, National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), and Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM). Targets related to the clinical phenotypes of CARAS with lung–spleen qi deficiency and wind–cold invading the lung syndrome were retrieved from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Syndrome Ontology and Multidimensional Quantitative Association Calculation Platform. The intersection of CARAS disease targets and syndrome-related targets yielded CARAS disease–syndrome targets. The intersection of Fuzheng Gankang Pill component-related targets and CARAS disease–syndrome targets provided “disease–syndrome–formula” intersection targets. These targets were uploaded to the STRING database for protein–protein interaction (PPI) network analysis, with topological analysis identifying key targets. Metascape was used for Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis. Molecular docking validation was performed using AutoDock Vina 1.1.2.

Results

The 13 core herbs of Fuzheng Gankang Pill contain a total of 200 active ingredients and 289 related targets. There are 2,412 disease targets for CARAS and 735 corresponding disease targets for the main and secondary symptoms of lung–spleen qi deficiency and wind–cold invading the lung. Through the Venn diagram, a total of 35 intersecting targets were obtained for Fuzheng Gankang Pill, CARAS, and the combination of lung–spleen qi deficiency and wind–cold invading the lung syndrome. Quercetin, Polygonatum sibiricum flavonoids, β-sitosterol, baicalein, kaempferol, etc., are core components. PPI network analysis found that tumor necrosis factor (TNF), prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2 (PTGS2), interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGFβ1), BCL2, etc., are the core targets for the compound to exert therapeutic effects. GO enrichment analysis showed that the 13 core drugs of Fuzheng Gankang Pill mainly participate in key biological processes such as positive regulation of protein modification, response to hormones, and negative regulation of cell population proliferation through protein kinases in areas such as membrane rafts, membrane microregions, plasma membrane protein complexes, and receptor complexes. KEGG enriched a total of 30 signaling pathways. Molecular docking shows that active ingredients such as quercetin and kaempferol bind stably to TNF (binding energy ≤ −9.0 kcal·mol−1) and PTGS2 (≤ −8.5 kcal·mol−1).

Conclusion

Fuzheng Gankang Pill may regulate biological processes such as cell apoptosis, tissue remodeling, inflammatory response, and immune response by acting on core targets such as TNF and PTGS2 through its core components quercetin, baicalein, β-sitosterol, baicalein, and kaempferol, thereby exerting therapeutic effects on CARAS with lung–spleen qi deficiency and wind–cold invading the lung syndrome.

Keywords

Fuzheng Gankang Pill - CARAS - lung–spleen qi deficiency - wind–cold invading the lung syndrome - network pharmacology - molecular docking

CRediT Authorship Contribution Statement

Xin Wang: Conceptualization, data curation, supervision, and writing-original draft. Ye Pan: Conceptualization, formal analysis, methodology, and software. Suhua Wang: Conceptualization, investigation, supervision, and writing -original draft. Zhiyong Pang: Conceptualization, and project administration. Zhixin Zhao: Data curation and investigation. Juntao Yan: Investigation, and writing -original draft. Kaiwen Dong: Data curation, and investigation. Kun Li: Formal analysis, and investigation. Mingli Zhang: Conceptualization, supervision, and writing -original draft. Junxia Zhang: Project administration.




Publikationsverlauf

Eingereicht: 28. Januar 2025

Angenommen: 27. März 2025

Artikel online veröffentlicht:
27. Juni 2025

© 2025. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, permitting unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is properly cited. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

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