Network Pharmacology-Based Dissection of the Anti-diabetic Mechanism of Lobelia chinensis

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic inflammatory disease, and the rapidly increasing DM is becoming a major problem of global public health. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has a long history of treating diabetes. It has been developed and utilized because of its good efficacy and no toxic side effects. <i>Lobelia chinensis</i> is a traditional whole grass herbal. With the continuous deepening of pharmacological research on TCM, the active ingredients of <i>L. chinensis</i> are continuously revealed, which contained the alkaloids, flavonoids, flavonoid glycosides and amino acids that have the good effects of anti-inflammatory, anti-viral and anti-diabetic. In order to further explore the targets of active ingredients and its anti-diabetic mechanism, a feasible network pharmacology analysis model based on chemical, pharmacokinetic and pharmacological data was developed by network construction method to clarify the anti-diabetic mechanism of <i>L. chinensis</i>. The present study conducted by gas chromatography-mass spectrometer (GC/MS), which identified 208 metabolites of <i>L. chinensis</i>, of which 23 ingredients may have effective pharmacological effects after absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) screening. Network pharmacological analysis on the active ingredients revealed that 5-hydroxymethylfurfural in <i>L. chinensis</i> affects the insulin resistance signaling pathway by acting on GSK3B, TNF, and MAPK1, acacetin affects the diabetic pathway by acting on INSR, DPP4, and GSK3B, that regulate type 2 diabetes, non-insulin-dependent DM, and inflammatory diseases. These results successfully indicated the potential anti-diabetic mechanism of the active ingredients of <i>L. chinensis</i>.