Network pharmacological study of ethyl acetate fraction of Ophioglossum vulgatum Linn. in alopecia treatment

Abstract Background Ophioglossum vulgatum Linn. (O. vulgatum) is a herbal medicine of southwest provinces in China, which has been used for treatment of varieties diseases including wound or alopecia since ancient time. However, few of its pharmacological and pharmacochemical knowledge was known. Methods The ethyl acetate fraction of O. vulgatum (OpvE) was prepared with the reflex extraction and fractional extraction method. And the components in this fraction were identified with UPLC-Q/TOF-MS system and SCIEXOS database. The potential functions and regulatory pathways of these components were screened and predicted with some bioinformatic methods. MTT was engaged to determining the cell proliferation. Spectrophotometric method was carried according to the respond kits menus to identifying the ATP concentration and catalase activity. The transcription of the genes was semi-quantitatively studied by real-time PCR. Results The extract ratio of OpvE was 1.67 ± 0.78% (g/g). 24 Ingredients were identified, of which 12 compounds were found with positive and negative model of UPLC-Q/TOF-MS. 409 Candidate targets were obtained with bioinformatic analysis. And 14 pathways were selected with KEGG analysis (P < 0.05) as criterion. Finally, the cell proliferation promoting activity of OpvE (0.98–125 µg/mL) were determined with HaCaT cell assays in vitro. 250 µg/mL OpvE showed cell toxicity. In addition, the ATP concentration and catalase (CAT) activity were increased with additional OpvE treatment (7.5–15 µg/mL for ATP and 30–60 µg/mL for CAT). Transcription of type Ⅰ collagen pro-α1 chain (COL1A1) fibronectin-1 (FN1), and tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) were also increased in cell assays with 15, 30 and 60 µg/mL OpvE respectively. Conclusion OpvE was identified as a hair growth promoting activity herbal, providing a new potential herbal medicine for the treatment of alopecia.