Medication Rules of Hub Herb Pairs for Insomnia and Mechanism of Action: Results of Data Mining, Network Pharmacology, and Molecular Docking.

Abstract

Objectives: To explore the medication rules of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and mechanism of action of hub herb pairs for treating insomnia.

Methods: Totally 104 prescriptions were statistically analyzed. The association rule algorithm was applied to mine the hub herb pairs. Network pharmacology was utilized to analyze the mechanism of the hub herb pairs, while molecular docking was applied to simulate the interaction between receptors and herb molecules, thereby predicting their binding affinities.

Results: The most frequently used herbs in TCM prescriptions for treating insomnia included Semen Ziziphi Spinosae, Radix Glycyrrhizae, Radix et Rhizoma Ginseng, and Poria cum Radix Pini. Among them, the most commonly used were the supplementing herbs, followed by heat-clearing, mind-calming, and exterior-releasing ones, with their properties of warm and cold, flavors of sweet, Pungent, and bitter, and meridian tropisms of liver, lungs, spleen, kidneys, heart, and stomach. The hub herb pairs based on the association rules included Radix Astragali-Radix et Rhizoma Ginseng, Rhizoma Chuanxiong-Radix Glycyrrhizae, Seman Platycladi-Semen Ziziphi Spinosae, Pericarpium Citri Reticulatae-Radix Glycyrrhizae, Radix Polygalae-Semen Ziziphi Spinosae, and Radix Astragali-Semen Ziziphi Spinosae. Network pharmacology revealed that the cAMP signaling pathway might play a key role in treating insomnia synergistically with HIF-1 signaling pathway, prolactin signaling pathway, chemical carcinogenesis receptor activation, and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway. Molecular docking indicated that there was good binding between the active ingredients of the hub herb pairs and the hub targets.

Conclusions: This study identified six hub herb pairs for treating insomnia in TCM. These hub herb pairs may synergistically treat insomnia with HIF-1 signaling pathway, prolactin signaling pathway, chemical carcinogenesis receptor activation, and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway through the cAMP signaling pathway.