Network Pharmacology Unveils Multi-Systemic Intervention of Panax notoginseng in Osteoporosis via Key Genes and Signaling Pathways.

Background: Panax notoginseng (Burk.) F. H. Chen (PN) is a traditional Chinese medicine that has been applied to prevent and treat osteoporosis. The mechanism of PN for osteoporosis remained a mystery.

Objective: The objective was to reveal the therapeutic effect and illuminate the possible mechanism of PN for osteoporosis.

Methods: The Traditional Chinese Medicine Database and Analysis Platform was searched to screen the potent ingredients of the PN and to analyze the potential therapeutic targets for osteoporosis. We excavated four disease databases to collect osteoporosis-related genes. After integrating the gene expression profile of osteoporosis and the chemical-protein data of PN, a protein-protein interaction network was constructed to demonstrate the interactions among the gene products. GO function, KEGG pathway, and docking analyses were executed.

Results: Network pharmacology obtained 31 active ingredients and 134 targets for the treatment of osteoporosis. The key components were beta-elemene, quercetin, methyl palmitate, oleic acid, and hexanal. The results of GO and KEGG analyses showed that Panax notoginseng was beneficial for osteoporosis by influencing the main pathways including AGE-RAGE signaling pathway in diabetic complications, TNF signaling pathway, IL-17 signaling pathway, p53 signaling pathway, NF-kappa B signaling pathway, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, MAPK signaling pathway, FoxO signaling pathway, and Wnt signaling pathway, modulating inflammation, metabolism, cell proliferation, cell survival, growth and angiogenesis. Panax notoginseng intervened in osteoporosis through multi-components, multi-targets, and multi-pathways.

Conclusion: This study illustrates the mechanism of Panax notoginseng for osteoporosis, providing broader insights for novel research and developments of the Panax species for osteoporosis.