An effective solution to discover synergistic drugs for anti-cerebral ischemia from traditional Chinese medicinal formulae.
Recently, the pharmaceutical industry has shifted to pursuing combination therapies that comprise more than one active ingredient. Interestingly, combination therapies have been used for more than 2500 years in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Understanding optimal proportions and synergistic mechanisms of multi-component drugs are critical for developing novel strategies to combat complex diseases. A new multi-objective optimization algorithm based on least angle regression-partial least squares was proposed to construct the predictive model to evaluate the synergistic effect of the three components of a novel combination drug Yi-qi-jie-du formula (YJ), which came from clinical TCM prescription for the treatment of encephalopathy. Optimal proportion of the three components, ginsenosides (G), berberine (B) and jasminoidin (J) was determined via particle swarm optimum. Furthermore, the combination mechanisms were interpreted using PLS VIP and principal components analysis. The results showed that YJ had optimal proportion 3(G): 2(B): 0.5(J), and it yielded synergy in the treatment of rats impaired by middle cerebral artery occlusion induced focal cerebral ischemia. YJ with optimal proportion had good pharmacological effects on acute ischemic stroke. The mechanisms study demonstrated that the combination of G, B and J could exhibit the strongest synergistic effect. J might play an indispensable role in the formula, especially when combined with B for the acute stage of stroke. All these data in this study suggested that in the treatment of acute ischemic stroke, besides restoring blood supply and protecting easily damaged cells in the area of the ischemic penumbra as early as possible, we should pay more attention to the removal of the toxic metabolites at the same time. Mathematical system modeling may be an essential tool for the analysis of the complex pharmacological effects of multi-component drug. The powerful mathematical analysis method could greatly improve the efficiency in finding new combination drug from TCM.
Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
Shaojing
S
Li
Chuanhong
C
Wu
Jianxin
J
Chen
Peng
P
Lu
Chang
C
Chen
Meihong
M
Fu
Jing
J
Fang
Jian
J
Gao
Li
L
Zhu
Rixin
R
Liang
Xin
X
Shen
Hongjun
H
Yang
D000465:Algorithms; D000818:Animals; D001599:Berberine / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000188:drug therapy*; D054022:Cerebrum / Q000098:blood supply / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D004338:Drug Combinations; D004339:Drug Compounding; D004353:Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; D004357:Drug Synergism; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D036145:Ginsenosides / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D020244:Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D039823:Iridoids / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016018:Least-Squares Analysis; D008297:Male; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional; D053078:Membrane Potential, Mitochondrial; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D008933:Mitochondrial Swelling; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012039:Regional Blood Flow / Q000187:drug effects
D004338:Drug Combinations; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D036145:Ginsenosides; D039823:Iridoids; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents; D001599:Berberine; C007835:geniposide