Investigating the Systems-Level Effect of Pueraria lobata for Menopause-Related Metabolic Diseases Using an Ovariectomized Rat Model and Network Pharmacological Analysis
by
Ji Hong Oh 1,†, Seon-Eun Baek 2,†, Won-Yung Lee 1
, Ji Yun Baek 3,4, Tuy An Trinh 3, Do Hwi Park 3, Hye Lim Lee 5, Ki Sung Kang 3, Chang-Eop Kim 1,* and Jeong-Eun Yoo 2,*
Ji Hong Oh 1,†, Seon-Eun Baek 2,†, Won-Yung Lee 1, Ji Yun Baek 3,4, Tuy An Trinh 3, Do Hwi Park 3, Hye Lim Lee 5, Ki Sung Kang 3, Chang-Eop Kim 1,* and Jeong-Eun Yoo 2,*
1
Department of Physiology, College of Korean Medicine, Gachon University, Seongnam 13120, Korea
2
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Korean Medicine, Daejeon University, Daejeon 35235, Korea
3
Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Korean Medicine, Gachon University, Seongnam 13120, Korea
4
Department of Food Science, Gyeongnam National University of Science and Technology, Jinju 52725, Korea
5
Department of Pediatrics, College of Korean Medicine, Daejeon University, Daejeon 35235, Korea
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Biomolecules 2019, 9(11), 747; https://doi.org/10.3390/biom9110747
Received: 6 September 2019 / Revised: 5 November 2019 / Accepted: 14 November 2019 / Published: 18 November 2019
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant-Food-Derived Bioactive Molecules on Human Longevity and Disease Prevention)
This study was conducted to evaluate the biological activities of Pueraria lobata (PL) on menopause-related metabolic diseases and to explore the underlying mechanism of PL by network pharmacological analyses. We used ovariectomized (OVX) rats as a postmenopausal model and administered PL at different doses (50, 100, and 200 mg/kg). In OVX rats, decreased uterine weights and PPAR-γ (peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma) mRNA expression in the thigh muscle were significantly recovered after PL administration. PL also significantly alleviated OVX-induced increases in total cholesterol, triglyceride, alanine aminotransferase (ALT/GPT), and aspartate aminotransferase (AST/GOT) levels. To identify the systems-level mechanism of PL, we performed network pharmacological analyses by predicting the targets of the potential bioactive compounds and their associated pathways. We identified 61 targets from four potential active compounds of PL: formononetin, beta-sitosterol, 3’-methoxydaidzein, and daidzein-4,7-diglucoside. Pathway enrichment analysis revealed that among female sex hormone-related pathways, the estrogen signaling pathways, progesterone-mediated oocyte maturation, oxytocin signaling pathways, and prolactin signaling pathways were associated with multiple targets of PL. In conclusion, we found that PL improved various indicators associated with lipid metabolism in the postmenopausal animal model, and we also identified that its therapeutic effects are exerted via multiple female sex hormone-related pathways.
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Keywords:
menopause-related metabolic diseases; menopause; Pueraria lobata; network pharmacology; lipid metabolism; dyslipidemia
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MDPI and ACS Style
Oh, J.H.; Baek, S.-E.; Lee, W.-Y.; Baek, J.Y.; Trinh, T.A.; Park, D.H.; Lee, H.L.; Kang, K.S.; Kim, C.-E.; Yoo, J.-E. Investigating the Systems-Level Effect of Pueraria lobata for Menopause-Related Metabolic Diseases Using an Ovariectomized Rat Model and Network Pharmacological Analysis. Biomolecules 2019, 9, 747.
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