سازوکار ضد تومور Curcumae Rhizoma مبتنی بر فارماکولوژی شبکه Antitumor Mechanisms of Curcumae Rhizoma Based on Network Pharmacology

1. Introduction Curcumae Rhizoma, known as Ezhu in Mandarin, is a traditional Chinese medication (TCM) commonly used in both traditional treatment and modern clinical care [1]. Its pharmacological actions, which include antitumor, antiplatelet aggregation, and antithrombosis, hepatoprotective, antioxidant, antimicrobial, and antiviral activities, have attracted a great deal of attention [1]. Among its activities, the antitumor effect has been most extensively studied. Together with the antithrombosis properties, the antitumor activity is relevant to the traditional concept of “activating qi and breaking blood stasis” [1]. TCM has developed over thousands of years and accumulated abundant clinical experience, resulting in the formation of a comprehensive and unique medical system [2]. Due to the complex nature of TCM, which is rooted in both medicinal herbs and an understanding of the human body, the mechanisms of action for many traditional medications remain unclear [3]. Consequently, it is difficult to dissect the antitumor mechanisms of Curcumae Rhizoma. Network pharmacology, first proposed by Hopkins in 2007 [4], is an approach to drug design that encompasses systems biology, network analysis, connectivity, redundancy, and pleiotropy [5]. This paradigm is capable of describing complex interactions among biological systems, drugs, and diseases from a network perspective and in this sense shares the holistic perspective of TCM [2, 3, 6]. Network pharmacology has been increasingly applied to exploring the pharmacological mechanisms of TCM, including the effects of JiaWeixianJi Tang on inflammatory bowel disease [7], XiaoYao powder on anovulatory infertility [8], and so on. In our previous study of salvianolic acid A (SAA), an abundant water-soluble and potently antioxidative compound isolated from Danshen, a TCM, we constructed the drug-target-pathway network, providing a systematic and visual overview of possible molecular mechanisms and signaling pathways involving this compound [9]. Thus, network pharmacology represents a powerful tool for dissecting the mechanisms underlying the anticancer action of Curcumae Rhizoma.