Journal of Ginseng Research

The Korean Society of Ginseng (고려인삼학회)
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Systematic exploration of therapeutic effects and key mechanisms of Panax ginseng using network-based approaches

  • Young Woo Kim (School of Korean Medicine, Dongguk University) ;
  • Seon Been Bak (School of Korean Medicine, Dongguk University) ;
  • Yu Rim Song (School of Korean Medicine, Dongguk University) ;
  • Chang-Eop Kim (School of Korean Medicine, Gachon University) ;
  • Won-Yung Lee (School of Korean Medicine, Dongguk University)
  • Received : 2023.08.14
  • Accepted : 2024.01.19
  • Published : 2024.07.01
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Abstract

Background: Network pharmacology has emerged as a powerful tool to understand the therapeutic effects and mechanisms of natural products. However, there is a lack of comprehensive evaluations of network-based approaches for natural products on identifying therapeutic effects and key mechanisms. Purpose: We systematically explore the capabilities of network-based approaches on natural products, using Panax ginseng as a case study. P. ginseng is a widely used herb with a variety of therapeutic benefits, but its active ingredients and mechanisms of action on chronic diseases are not yet fully understood. Methods: Our study compiled and constructed a network focusing on P. ginseng by collecting and integrating data on ingredients, protein targets, and known indications. We then evaluated the performance of different network-based methods for summarizing known and unknown disease associations. The predicted results were validated in the hepatic stellate cell model. Results: We find that our multiscale interaction-based approach achieved an AUROC of 0.697 and an AUPR of 0.026, which outperforms other network-based approaches. As a case study, we further tested the ability of multiscale interactome-based approaches to identify active ingredients and their plausible mechanisms for breast cancer and liver cirrhosis. We also validated the beneficial effects of unreported and top-predicted ingredients, in cases of liver cirrhosis and gastrointestinal neoplasms. Conclusion: our study provides a promising framework to systematically explore the therapeutic effects and key mechanisms of natural products, and highlights the potential of network-based approaches in natural product research.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

Kim YW would like to thank to the Ph.D.'s program of Kyungpook National University for completing the thesis through this work.

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