Systems Pharmacological Approach to Investigate the Mechanism of Acori Tatarinowii Rhizoma for Alzheimer's Disease

In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), Acori Tatarinowii Rhizoma (ATR) is widely used to treat memory and cognition dysfunction. This study aimed to confirm evidence regarding the potential therapeutic effect of ATR on Alzheimer's disease (AD) using a system network level based in silico approach. Study results showed that the compounds in ATR are highly connected to AD-related signaling pathways, biological processes, and organs. These findings were confirmed by compound-target network, target-organ location network, gene ontology analysis, and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis. Most compounds in ATR have been reported to have antifibrillar amyloid plaques, anti-tau phosphorylation, and anti-inflammatory effects. Our results indicated that compounds in ATR interact with multiple targets in a synergetic way. Furthermore, the mRNA expressions of genes targeted by ATR are elevated significantly in heart, brain, and liver. Our results suggest that the anti-inflammatory and immune system enhancing effects of ATR might contribute to its major therapeutic effects on Alzheimer's disease.