A preliminary strategy for screening the combination of active components based on Bu–Shen–Yi–Qi Decoction for bronchial asthma

Objective: The anti-asthma herbal medicine Bu–Shen–Yi–Qi Decoction (BSYQ Decoction), a combination of three traditional Chinese medicine herbs developed in our lab, has shown demonstrated efficacy in Ovalbumin (OVA)-induced acute bronchial asthma. However, the obscure substances, multiple potential targets and the unclear molecular mechanisms are obstacles to control drug quality, stability and standardization. Multi-component formulae with a clear pharmacodynamic material and specific mechanism are an innovation worth exploring. They may also partly reserve a potential synergistic and additive effect compared with single components extracted from traditional Chinese herbs. This study was designed to select three standard multi-component formulae of the combination of effective components preliminarily based on four effective components [total flavonoids of Herba Epimedii ([Formula: see text]; Astragalus polysaccharide ([Formula: see text]; Astragaloside ([Formula: see text]; and Catalpol ([Formula: see text]] in BSYQ Decoction. Methods: OVA-induced asthmatic murine models were established. A uniform design was applied to select 10 proportions from four target components, and 3 formulae which showed best effect aimed at IFN-[Formula: see text], IL-4 and IgE in the serum respectively were screened based on stepwise regression analysis. Results: According to the regression analysis, Formula I ([Formula: see text]:[Formula: see text]:[Formula: see text]:6:29), Formula II ([Formula: see text]:[Formula: see text]:[Formula: see text]:8:2) and Formula III ([Formula: see text]:[Formula: see text]:[Formula: see text]:[Formula: see text]:50:8:2) are the three potential proper ratios for the new multi-component formula aimed at serum IFN-[Formula: see text], IL-4 and IgE in OVA-induced asthma mice, respectively. Conclusion: Three multi-component formulae derived from BSYQ Decoction could exert anti-inflammatory effect against OVA-induced asthma, which might provide evidences and lay foundations for further study of standard modern Chinese drug for treating asthma based on BSYQ Decoction.