Background. Paeoniae Radix Alba (PRA), the root of the plant Paeonia lactiflora Pall., has been suggested to play an important role for the treatment of asthma. A biochemical understanding of the clinical effects of Paeoniae Radix Alba is needed. Here, we explore the phytochemicals and therapeutic mechanisms via a systematic and comprehensive network pharmacology analysis. Methods. Through TCMSP, PubChem, GeneCards database, and SwissTargetPrediction online tools, potential targets of active ingredients from PRA for the treatment of asthma were obtained. Cytoscape 3.7.2 was used to determine the target of active ingredients of PRA. Target protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed through the STRING database. The Gene Ontology (GO) biological process and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis were analyzed through the biological information annotation database (DAVID). Results. Our results indicate that PRA contains 21 candidate active ingredients with the potential to treat asthma. The enrichment analysis of GO and KEGG pathways found that the treatment of asthma by PRA may be related to the process of TNF (tumor necrosis factor) release, which can regulate and inhibit multiple signaling pathways such as ceramide signaling. Conclusions. Our work provides a phytochemical basis and therapeutic mechanisms of PRA for the treatment of asthma, which provides new insights on further research on PRA.

中文翻译：

---

白芍治疗哮喘的植物化学成分鉴定及作用机制的网络药理学分析

背景。白芍 (Paeoniae Radix Alba , PRA) 是植物芍药 (Paeonia lactiflora Pall.) 的根，已被认为对治疗哮喘具有重要作用。需要对白芍的临床作用进行生化了解。在这里，我们通过系统和全面的网络药理学分析探索植物化学物质和治疗机制。方法. 通过TCMSP、PubChem、GeneCards 数据库和SwissTargetPrediction 在线工具，获得了来自PRA 的活性成分治疗哮喘的潜在靶点。Cytoscape 3.7.2用于确定PRA活性成分的靶点。通过STRING数据库构建目标蛋白相互作用（PPI）网络。通过生物信息注释数据库（DAVID）对基因本体（GO）生物学过程和京都基因与基因百科全书（KEGG）通路富集分析进行分析。结果. 我们的研究结果表明，PRA 含有 21 种具有治疗哮喘潜力的候选活性成分。GO和KEGG通路富集分析发现，PRA治疗哮喘可能与TNF（肿瘤坏死因子）释放过程有关，TNF（肿瘤坏死因子）可以调节和抑制神经酰胺信号通路等多种信号通路。结论。我们的工作为PRA治疗哮喘提供了植物化学基础和治疗机制，为进一步研究PRA提供了新的思路。