The Anti-Osteoporosis Effects of Panax japonicus via Downregulation of Inflammatory Factors: A Network Pharmacology and Ovariectomized Rat Model Study.

Abstract

Objective: Osteoporosis is a major and growing public health problem characterized by decreased bone mineral density and destroyed bone microarchitecture. Panax japonicus has been clinically used in the treatment of bone diseases, especially osteoporosis. However, there is a lack of study on the mechanism of osteoporosis treatment with Panax japonicus.

Materials and methods: A network pharmacology approach was employed to identify the targets of osteoporosis and Panax japonicus. Cytoscape 3.7.2 and DAVID were used to visualize the pharmacological mechanism of Panax japonicus in treating osteoporosis by building up compound-target and protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks and conducting Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses. An ovariectomized SD rat osteoporosis model was used to assess the potential therapeutic effect of Panax japonicus in vivo. The biomechanical properties, pathological changes, inflammatory cytokines, bone density, and bone microstructural parameters in rat bone tissue were carefully measured. The biochemical markers of bone metabolism in serum were detected by Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA).

Results: Fifty-two active components and sixty-five target genes of Panax japonicus involved in the treatment of osteoporosis were identified. The PPI network revealed IL-6, TNF, NR3C1, IL-1β, CASP3, ESR1, PGR, and AR to be involved in the treatment of osteoporosis with Panax japonicus. Chikusetsusaponin IVa and Radix ginsenoside-Ro were the main saponins found in Panax japonicus. Panax japonicus was found to exert potent preventive effects on osteoporosis by maintaining biomechanical properties, increasing bone mineral density, and protecting the trabecular microstructure in an ovariectomized rat osteoporosis model. Panax japonicus hindered the initiation of osteoporosis induced by ovariectomy by regulating bone metabolism and downregulating the expression of IL-6 and TNF-α.

Conclusion: Panax japonicus was found to contain 52 compounds and 65 targets in the treatment of osteoporosis. The administration of Panax japonicus could mitigate osteoporosis in rats induced by ovariectomy, and one of the mechanisms was associated with downregulating the expression of inflammatory factors.