Anti-inflammatory of Alhagi sparsifolia Shap. extract: Network pharmacology analysis and experimental verification

Background: Alhagi sparsifolia Shap. (ASS) is a treasured medicinal plant and has long been employed for treating human diseases including physiological process of pain and inflammation in China. However, very tiny information has been stated about active ingredients and action mechanisms of ASS. Objective: The main determination of this article is to examine analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties of chloroform fraction of Alhagi sparsifolia Shap. (CASS), wishing to deliver some basic data for further growth of new drugs for the treatment of inflammation and pain. Materials and Methods: The acute toxicity of CASS was assessed. Essential compositions of CASS were entreated by ultra-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry. Network pharmacology analysis comprising Herb-Chemical component-Targets-Pathway (H-C-T-P) network conducting and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analysis were performed. The anti-inflammatory property of CASS and regulation of two core targets prophesied by network pharmacology were confirmed by a carrageenan-induced paw edema model. Results: CASS was safe even at the maximum oral administration dose of 20 g/kg. Twelve active ingredients were preliminary recognized by ultra-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry. Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) were found to be the core targets projected by H-C-T-P network. By oral administration, CASS could suggestively relieve carrageenan-induced edema and downregulate TNF-α and IL-1 β concentration in rats' swelling paw since dose of 250 mg/kg. Conclusion: CASS has anti-inflammatory effect through complex mechanisms which encompass downregulating the activation of IL-1 β and TNF-α.