Background/Objective: Senile pruritus (SP) is a prevalent disease that occurs in elderly individuals over the age of 60 and is characterized by the primary symptom of pruritus. The disease's pathogenesis is complex, and clinical practice mainly uses symptomatic treatment drugs. YGZ223 is a traditional Chinese medicine currently in clinical trials for treatment of SP. However, its chemical composition and pharmacological mechanism remain unclear. The purpose of this inquiry is to investigate the workings of YGZ223 in managing SP using network pharmacology, UPLC-MS, and molecular docking. Materials and Method: This investigation employs network pharmacology to anticipate the mode of operation of YGZ223 in alleviating SP, and UPLC-MS is applied to identify the chemical constituents. Molecular docking provides the binding strengths between principal constituents and targets, while animal experiments are performed to validate the antipruritic activity of YGZ223. Results: The compound prescription for SP contains formononetin and erysodienone as effective ingredients. These ingredients have the potential to impact pathways related to cancer, endocrine resistance, and the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway by regulating targets such as AKT1, EGFR, and mTOR. Formononetin and erysodienone have a considerable binding capacity with various targets, the former displaying the strongest binding with AKT1. Animal test results show that the YGZ223 group can significantly reduce the number of tickles in mice compared to the 4-Aminopyridine induced model group, and has a good anti-itch effect. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that YGZ223 has potential anti-SP activity due to multiple constituents, targets, and pathways, and thus lays the groundwork for development of novel therapeutic approaches for SP.

中文翻译：

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利用网络药理学和 UPLC-MS 研究 YGZ223 治疗老年性瘙痒症的活性成分及作用机制


背景/目标： 老年性瘙痒症 （SP） 是一种普遍的疾病，发生在 60 岁以上的老年人中，其特征是瘙痒的主要症状。该病的发病机制复杂，临床实践主要使用对症治疗药物。YGZ223 是一种中药，目前正在临床试验中用于治疗 SP。然而，其化学成分和药理机制仍不清楚。本研究的目的是研究 YGZ223 使用网络药理学、UPLC-MS 和分子对接管理 SP 中的作用。材料和方法：本研究采用网络药理学来预测 YGZ223 缓解 SP 的作用模式，并应用 UPLC-MS 鉴定化学成分。分子对接提供了主要成分和靶标之间的结合强度，同时进行动物实验以验证 YGZ223 的止痒活性。结果： SP 的复方处方含有 formononetin 和 erysodienone 作为有效成分。这些成分有可能通过调节 AKT1、EGFR 和 mTOR 等靶标来影响与癌症、内分泌耐药和 PI3K/AKT 信号通路相关的通路。Formononetin 和赤二二酮对各种靶标具有相当大的结合能力，前者与 AKT1 的结合力最强。动物试验结果表明，YGZ223 组与 4-氨基吡啶诱导的模型组相比，能显著减少小鼠的挠痒次数，具有良好的止痒作用。 结论： 本研究证明 YGZ223 具有多种成分、靶点和通路，具有潜在的抗 SP 活性，从而为开发 SP 的新型治疗方法奠定了基础。