OBJECTIVE  To evaluate the effective components and active mechanism of Polygonatum cyrtonema Hua in relieving inflammatory fatigue based on LC-MS analysis and network pharmacology.

  METHODS  The component information of Polygonatum cyrtonema Hua was obtained through LC-MS, and the information on the targets of the components was collected. After comparing the gene targets of inflammatory fatigue, the common targets were obtained as the targets of Polygonatum cyrtonema Hua; GO functional enrichment analysis and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis of the shared gene targets were performed; finally, a pro-inflammatory cell model was used to verify the anti-inflammatory activity of Polygonatum cyrtonema Hua.

  RESULTS  A total of 62 chemical components of Polygonatum cyrtonema Hua were detected by LC-MS, and 208 common targets between components and diseases were found. Network pharmacological analysis suggested that N-cis-feruloyl tyramide, β-sitosterol, 11E-octadecadienoic acid, β-D-glucuronic acid and liquiritigenin are important active components of Polygonatum cyrtonema Hua against inflammatory fatigue, and STAT3, MAPK3, AKT1, JUN, TP53, EGFR, CASP3 and IL-6 may be the key biological targets. The main biological pathways are focused on 5-HT aminergic synapses, calcium signaling pathway, JAK-STAT signaling and NF-κB pathway. The cell experiments showed that Polygonatum cyrtonema Hua had a significant inhibitory effect on LPS-induced macrophage secretion of inflammatory cytokines, indicating that Polygonatum cyrtonema Hua can exert certain anti-inflammatory actions.

  CONCLUSION  The relatively large number of small molecule components in Polygonatum cyrtonema Hua can act on multiple biological targets through various biological pathways to improve inflammation-related fatigue in the body.