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. 2022 May;130(5):606-617.
doi: 10.1111/bcpt.13722. Epub 2022 Mar 29.

Network pharmacology-based dissection of the underlying mechanisms of dyspnoea induced by zedoary turmeric oil

Zhirui Yang  1   2 , Zhenzhen Wang  1   2 , Jiangling Li  3 , Jianglan Long  1   2 , Cheng Peng  3 , Dan Yan  1   2
Affiliations

Network pharmacology-based dissection of the underlying mechanisms of dyspnoea induced by zedoary turmeric oil

Zhirui Yang et al. Basic Clin Pharmacol Toxicol. 2022 May.

Abstract

Zedoary turmeric oil (ZTO) has been widely used in clinic. However, the unpleasant induced dyspnoea inevitably impedes its clinical application. Thus, it is urgent to elucidate the mechanism underlying the ZTO-induced dyspnoea. In this study, network pharmacology was firstly performed to search the clue of ZTO-induced dyspnoea. The key target genes of ZTO-induced dyspnoea were analysed using GO enrichment analysis and KEGG pathway analysis. GO analysis suggested that haem binding could be a key molecular function involved in ZTO-induced dyspnoea. Hence, the haemoglobin (Hb) was focused for its oxygen-carrying capacity with haem as its critical component binding to the oxygen. Ultraviolet-visible absorption spectrum indicated that the ZTO injection (ZTOI) perturbed the Soret band of Hb, suggesting an interaction between ZTO and Hb. GC-MS analysis revealed that β-elemene, germacrone, curdione and furanodiene were main components of ZTOI. Molecular docking was used to illustrate the high affinity between representative sesquiterpenes and Hb, which was finally confirmed by surface plasmon resonance, suggesting their potential roles in dyspnoea by ZTO. Following a network pharmacology-driven strategy, our study revealed an intervened Hb-based mechanism underlying the ZTO-induced dyspnoea, providing a reference for elucidating mechanism underlying adverse drug reactions of herbal medicines in clinic.

Keywords: binding affinity; dyspnoea; haemoglobin; network pharmacology; zedoary turmeric oil.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
The network pharmacology study of dyspnoea induced by zedoary turmeric oil (ZTO). (A) Venn diagram of the overlapping targets in ZTO and dyspnoea. (B) Compound‐target network diagram. The pink round rectangles represent the compounds in ZTO. The light blue circles represent the common target genes of ZTO and dyspnoea. Node size was proportional to the value of degree. (C) Gene ontology (GO) enrichment analysis. Bubble size represents the number of genes involved in the GO enrichment. Colour represents the adjusted p value in log base 10. (D) KEGG pathway enrichment analysis. Bubble size represents the number of genes enriched in pathways. Colour represents the adjusted p value in log base 10
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Ultraviolet–visible absorption spectrum determination. (A) The ultraviolet–visible absorption spectrum of haemoglobin (Hb) treated with normal or abnormal zedoary turmeric oil injection (ZTOI, 1 mg/ml). OD, optical density. (B) The absorbance at 406 nm of Hb treated with normal or abnormal ZTOI. *** p < 0.001
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Total ion chromatography of zedoary turmeric oil injection by GC–MS. Partial monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes were identified, including (1) eucalyptol, (2) linalool, (3) (−)‐camphor, (4) isoborneol, (5) (+)‐α‐terpineol, (6) δ‐elemene, (7) β‐elemene, (8) caryophyllene, (9) γ‐elemene, (10) humulene, (11) curzerene, (12) germacrene B, (13) β‐elemenone, (14) neocurdione, (15) germacrone, (16) curdione and (17) curcumenone
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Molecular docking of different compounds with haemoglobin. (A) β‐Elemene, (B) furanodiene, (C) germacrone and (D) curdione
FIGURE 5
FIGURE 5
Surface plasmon resonance sensorgrams of different compounds with haemoglobin. (A) β‐Elemene, (B) furanodiene, (C) germacrone and (D) curdione
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