Protective effect and mechanism of Polygonatum kingianum against hypoxia-induced injury
Xue Li,
MiJia Mei,
XueMei Pu,
XiaoJiao Chen,
XueFang Li,
FanYing Meng,
Sen He,
JingPing Li,
Wen Gu,
XingXin Yang,
Fan Zhang,
Jie Yu
Affiliations
Xue Li
School of Chinese Materia Medica and Yunnan Key Laboratory of Southern Medicinal Resource, Yunnan University of Chinese Medicine, 1076 Yuhua Road, Kunming, 650500, China
MiJia Mei
School of Chinese Materia Medica and Yunnan Key Laboratory of Southern Medicinal Resource, Yunnan University of Chinese Medicine, 1076 Yuhua Road, Kunming, 650500, China
XueMei Pu
School of Chinese Materia Medica and Yunnan Key Laboratory of Southern Medicinal Resource, Yunnan University of Chinese Medicine, 1076 Yuhua Road, Kunming, 650500, China
XiaoJiao Chen
School of Chinese Materia Medica and Yunnan Key Laboratory of Southern Medicinal Resource, Yunnan University of Chinese Medicine, 1076 Yuhua Road, Kunming, 650500, China
XueFang Li
School of Chinese Materia Medica and Yunnan Key Laboratory of Southern Medicinal Resource, Yunnan University of Chinese Medicine, 1076 Yuhua Road, Kunming, 650500, China
FanYing Meng
School of Chinese Materia Medica and Yunnan Key Laboratory of Southern Medicinal Resource, Yunnan University of Chinese Medicine, 1076 Yuhua Road, Kunming, 650500, China
Sen He
School of Chinese Materia Medica and Yunnan Key Laboratory of Southern Medicinal Resource, Yunnan University of Chinese Medicine, 1076 Yuhua Road, Kunming, 650500, China
JingPing Li
School of Chinese Materia Medica and Yunnan Key Laboratory of Southern Medicinal Resource, Yunnan University of Chinese Medicine, 1076 Yuhua Road, Kunming, 650500, China
Wen Gu
School of Chinese Materia Medica and Yunnan Key Laboratory of Southern Medicinal Resource, Yunnan University of Chinese Medicine, 1076 Yuhua Road, Kunming, 650500, China
XingXin Yang
School of Chinese Materia Medica and Yunnan Key Laboratory of Southern Medicinal Resource, Yunnan University of Chinese Medicine, 1076 Yuhua Road, Kunming, 650500, China
Fan Zhang
Corresponding author.; School of Chinese Materia Medica and Yunnan Key Laboratory of Southern Medicinal Resource, Yunnan University of Chinese Medicine, 1076 Yuhua Road, Kunming, 650500, China
Jie Yu
Corresponding author.; School of Chinese Materia Medica and Yunnan Key Laboratory of Southern Medicinal Resource, Yunnan University of Chinese Medicine, 1076 Yuhua Road, Kunming, 650500, China
Background: Hypoxia is an essential cause of fatigue and aging, and is associated with the occurrence and development of many diseases. Polygonatum kingianum (PK) is a deficiency-nourishing Chinese herbal medicine utilized as both medicine and food, and it has long been used to ameliorate human conditions associated with fatigue and aging over 2000 years in China. PK is an important genuine-medicinal-materials cultivated in Yunnan, China, and is used by the Bai, Wa, and Zhuang nationalities as a traditional medicine for enhancing immunity, anti-fatigue, and anti-aging, while the preventive effect of PK on hypoxia-induced injury and the underlying mechanism are indefinite. Aim of the study: The present study aimed to evaluate the anti-hypoxia efficacy and understand the corresponding mechanism of PK water extract. Materials and methods: The main active ingredients and targets of PK were predicted using network pharmacology, and the anti-hypoxia activities of Gracillin and Liquiritigenin were verified by in vitro experiments. The pharmacodynamic experiments were conducted to evaluate the major signal pathways of PK for detecting anti-hypoxia activity. Results: Fifty active ingredients and 371 potential targets were screened by network pharmacology, then, we confirmed that Gracillin and Liquiritigenin were the main active components of PK to exert anti-hypoxia effect in vitro. The pharmacodynamic experiments revealed that PK enhanced the extension rate of the survival time (ERST) and regulated the targets-related biochemical parameters of rats under hypoxia, showing significant anti-hypoxia effects on rats. Conclusion: The network pharmacology results suggested that PK exerts its anti-hypoxia effect through a multi-component and multi-target manner. Simultaneously, we also observed that Gracillin (saponins) and Liquiritigenin (flavonoids) are the main active components of PK to play a role in anti-hypoxia. The anti-hypoxia effect of PK could be associated with scavenging excess free radicals, maintaining the activities of antioxidant enzymes, and inhibiting oxidative stress due to lipid peroxidation. These findings provide insight into the Polygonatum kingianum as promising medicines or healthcare products for preventing and treating hypoxia.
