Chemical characteristics of Rhodiola Crenulata and its mechanism in acute mountain sickness using UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS combined with network pharmacology analysis

Ethnopharmacological relevance Rhodiola crenulata (Hook.f. & Thomson) H.Ohba has a long history of clinical application for the prevention and treatment of acute mountain sickness (AMS) in traditional Chinese medicine . However, gaps in knowledge still exist in understanding the underlying mechanisms of Rhodiola crenulata against AMS. Aims To address this problem, a comprehensive method was established by combining UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS analysis and network pharmacology . Materials and methods The ingredients of Rhodiola crenulata were comprehensively analyzed using UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS method. On this basis, a network pharmacology method incorporated target prediction, protein-protein interaction network, gene enrichment analysis and components-targets-pathways network was performed. Finally, the possible mechanisms were verified through molecular docking, in vitro and in vivo experiments. Results A total of 106 constituents of Rhodiola crenulata were charactered via UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS. The 98 potentially active compounds out of 106 were screened and corresponded to 53 anti-AMS targets. Gene enrichment analysis revealed that hypoxia and inflammation related genes may be the central factors for Rhodiola crenulata to modulate AMS. Molecular docking revealed that TNF, VEGFA and HIF-1α had high affinities to Rhodiola crenulata compounds. Subsequently, Rhodiola crenulata extract was indicated to inhibit the protein expression level of TNF in hypoxia induced H9c2 cells. Lastly, Rhodiola crenulata extract was further verified to ameliorate heart injury and decreased the heart levels of TNF, VEGFA and HIF-1α in acute hypoxia-induced rats. Conclusions This study used UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS analysis and a network pharmacology to provide an important reference for revealing the potential mechanism of Rhodiola crenulata in the prevention and treatment of AMS.