Application of network pharmacology and dock of molecules on the exploration of the mechanism of frankincense-myrrh for lumbar intervertebral disc degeneration: A review

Abstract

To investigate the efficacy of Frankincense-Myrrh in lumbar Intervertebral degenerative diseases (LIDD). The active components of frankincense-myrrh was retrieved with a unique system pharmacology platform for Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology (TCMSP). The LIDD-related target genes were screened with DisGeNET and Genecards databases. Then, STRING & Cytoscape were used for analyzing the Protein-Protein Interaction network. DAVID was used for analyzing Gene Ontology (GO) & Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment. Finally, molecules of AutoDockVina and Pymol were used for docking the molecules for verifying active ingredients and key targets’ binding force. The 105 LIDD-related targets identified in Ruxiang (RX)-Moyao (MY) involve 53 active ingredients. In addition, topological analysis was conducted for identifying the 12 key targets. According to the analysis results of GO & KEGG, RX-MY is significant for treating LIDD through participating in many pathways and biological processes, such as signaling pathways of inflammatory response reactive process, MAP kinase activity, TNF, and MAPK, etc. According to the dock results, the active components oxo-tirucalic, acid, isofouquierone, (7S, 8R, 9S, 10R, 13S, 14S,17Z)-17-ethylidene-7-hydroxy-10,13-dimethyl-1,2,6,7,8,9,11,12,14,15-decahydrocyclopenta [a] phenanthrene-3,16-dion in RX-MY binds actively. The basic pharmacological action and RX-MY-related mechanism in the treatment of LIDD was revealed in this study for the first time. It is predicted that the results may provide a treatment plan for RX-MY with replacement of NSAIDs and warrant investigation of new therapeutic alternatives for LIDD. However, these predictions should be validated by relevant pharmacological trials.