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Jin-Gu-Lian (JGL) is traditionally used by Miao for the treatment of rheumatism arthralgia. At the same time, the combination of Sargentodoxa cuneata (Oliv.) Rehd. et W (SC) and Alangium chinense (Lour.) Harms (AC), the core drug pair (CDP) in the formula of JGL, is used at high frequencies in many Miao medicine prescriptions for rheumatic diseases. However, previous research lacks the pharmacokinetic study of JGL, and study on the compatibility of its CDP with other medicinal herbs in the formula is needed. This study aims to establish a simple, rapid, and sensitive Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method for the simultaneous determination of four main bioactive components of JGL in rat plasma, including Salidroside (Sal), Anabasine (Ana), Chlorogenic Acid (CA), and Protocatechuic Acid (PCA), and compare the pharmacokinetic properties of two groups of rats after being orally administrated with JGL and its CDP extracts, respectively. The results showed that area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC), mean retention time (MRT), and clearance rate (CL), of Sal, Ana, CA and PCA in the two groups of rats were changed in different degrees. The CDP combined with other drugs could significantly increase the absorption of Sal and Ana, prolong its retention time in vivo, and may accelerate the absorption rate of CA and PCA. This indicated that the combination of CDP and other herbs may affect the pharmacokinetics process of active components in vivo, increase the exposure and bioavailability of compounds in the JGL group, and prolong the retention time, which may be the reason why JGL has a better inhibitory effect on inflammatory cytokines, providing a viable orientation for the compatibility investigation of herb medicines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To investigate the drug use pattern of patients with chronic gouty arthritis treated with traditional Chinese medicine，to screen the common target genes of the core drugs and chronic gouty arthritis，and to analyze the biological roles of the common target genes. Methods Based on the 2020 edition of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia and Traditional Chinese Medicine，138 clinically valid prescriptions for chronic gouty arthritis were analyzed by the TCM Heritage Assist Platform（V2. 5）for the frequency of drug use，the association rules and cluster analysis of the four qi，five tastes，the attribution of meridians，and efficacy classification and prescription patterns，and the core drug pairs were selected based on the final results of the comprehensive analysis of high-frequency drugs and association rules. The chemical components of the core drug pairs and their therapeutic targets were searched by TCMSP，and were intersected with the chronic gouty arthritis targets co-screened by 4 databases including Genecards and OMIM to obtain common therapeutic targets，and the PPI network was constructed by STRING 11. 0 database to obtain key targets. Biological function and signaling pathway analysis were performed on the common targets using R language. Results A total of 237 Chinese medicines were used in the treatment of chronic gouty arthritis，with 25 medicines having a frequency of ≥ 20 times. Niuxi（Achyranthes bidentata Blume），Yiyiren（Coicis Semen），and Cangzhu（Rhizoma Atractylodis）were the most frequent drugs. The four qi was mainly warmness，neutrality and coldness；the five tastes were mainly sweetness，bitterness and pungency； they were mostly attributed to liver，spleen and kidney meridians；the efficacy classification was mainly for tonifying deficiency medicine，followed by diuretic and dampness-permeating herbs and blood-activating and stasis-resolving herbs；16 groups of high-frequency drugs were obtained，and 2 new prescriptions were made. There were 38 target genes in common between " Huangbo（Phellodendri Chinensis Cortex）-Niuxi（Achyranthes bidentata Blume）-Cangzhu（Rhizoma Atractylodis）" and chronic gouty arthritis，and 20 key target genes were intercepted according to PPI network association，the top 10 of which were IL6，TNF，IL1B，CXCL8，PPARG，CCL2，IL10，MMP9，PTGS2，and VCAM1. The basic ontology functions of common target genes mainly included the response to lipopolysaccharide，the response to bacteria-derived molecules，and the antioxidant response. There were 20 signaling pathways involved in common target genes，and they were mainly involved in lipid and atherosclerosis，AGE-RAGE signaling pathway，and IL-17 signaling pathway. Conclusions Chronic gouty arthritis is often treated with a combination of cold and warm herbs，and invigorating therapy combined with dispersing therapy，with the main treatment of "draining turbidity and excreting dampness，dispersing blood stasis and dredging collateral，and tonifying the liver，spleen and kidney ". The main target genes of " Huangbo（Phellodendri Chinensis Cortex）-Niuxi（Achyranthes bidentata Blume）-Cangzhu（Rhizoma Atractylodis）" are IL6，TNF，IL1B，CXCL8 （IL8），PPARG，and CCL2，and their ontology functions include the response to lipopolysaccharide，etc. The main target genes are mainly involved in lipid and atherosclerosis，AGE-RAGE signaling pathway in diabetic complications，and IL-17 signaling pathway，etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jin-Gu-Lian (JGL) is traditionally used by Miao for the treatment of rheumatism arthralgia. At the same time, the combination of Sargentodoxa cuneata (Oliv.) Rehd. et W (SC) and Alangium chinense (Lour.) Harms (AC), the core drug pair (CDP) in the formula of JGL, is used at high frequencies in many Miao medicine prescriptions for rheumatic diseases. However, previous research lacks the pharmacokinetic study of JGL, and study on the compatibility of its CDP with other medicinal herbs in the formula is needed. This study aims to establish a simple, rapid, and sensitive Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) method for the simultaneous determination of four main bioactive components of JGL in rat plasma, including Salidroside (Sal), Anabasine (Ana), Chlorogenic Acid (CA), and Protocatechuic Acid (PCA), and compare the pharmacokinetic properties of two groups of rats after being orally administrated with JGL and its CDP extracts, respectively. The results showed that area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC), mean retention time (MRT), and clearance rate (CL), of Sal, Ana, CA and PCA in the two groups of rats were changed in different degrees. The CDP combined with other drugs could significantly increase the absorption of Sal and Ana, prolong its retention time in vivo, and may accelerate the absorption rate of CA and PCA. This indicated that the combination of CDP and other herbs may affect the pharmacokinetics process of active components in vivo, increase the exposure and bioavailability of compounds in the JGL group, and prolong the retention time, which may be the reason why JGL has a better inhibitory effect on inflammatory cytokines, providing a viable orientation for the compatibility investigation of herb medicines.

Effective drugs for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD), a complex chronic lung disease, have long been difficultly determined, while traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) has played a critical effect in the treatment of such disease. A new approach for the prediction based on data analysis by integrating TCM basic theories and modern science is urgently needed apart from clinical experiments. In this study, an efficacy evaluation system of COPD was established based on the multi-target efficacy evaluation system of Chinese medicine to analyze the medication regularity and characteristics, such as efficacies, properties, meridian tropism,and core combinations of Chinese medicines. The characteristics of classical prescriptions in the intervention of COPD were explored from modern pharmacology. The results showed that the Chinese medicines in the classical prescriptions in the treatment of COPD were dominated by heat-clearing, phlegm-resolving, dampness-dispelling, exterior-releasing, deficiency-tonifying, and interior-warming drugs. Among them, dampness-dispelling, interior-warming, and heat-clearing drugs resulted in higher perturbation efficiency in the disease network than some western medicines on the market, suggesting that these drugs possessed better efficacies in the treatment of COPD. In the classic prescriptions, warm-heat drugs were equivalent to cold-cool drugs in number, while the proportion of warm-heat drugs gradually raised with the increase in the perturbation efficiency. Additionally, core combinations in the classical prescriptions,such as heat-clearing/heat-clearing, dampness-dispelling/dampness-dispelling, and phlegm-resolving/heat-clearing, could achieve better efficacy for COPD. The present study preliminarily screened out the efficacies of Chinese medicines in the treatment of COPD based on scientific data through the multi-target efficacy evaluation system to explore the effect of Chinese medicine on COPD from modern pharmacology, explain the mechanism of TCM treatment of lung diseases, and provide references for the development of drugs targeting COPD.