Identification of quality markers for Cyanotis arachnoidea and analysis of its physiological mechanism based on chemical pattern recognition, network pharmacology, and experimental validation
Open accessAbstract
Cyanotis arachnoidea C. B. Clarke is a traditional Chinese medicinal herb that has a limited clinical use in the treatment of diabetes mellitus (DM) in minority areas of Guizhou in China. However, few prior reports are available on the quality control of Cyanotis arachnoidea , and its quality markers and hypoglycemic mechanism are still unclear. The purpose of this study is to explore the quality markers (Q-markers) of Cyanotis arachnoidea and predict its hypoglycemic mechanism. In this study, ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) fingerprint combined with chemical pattern recognition were performed, and four differential components were screened out as quality markers, including 20-Hydroxyecdysone, 3- O -acetyl-20-hydroxyecdysone, Ajugasterone C, and 2- O -acetyl-20-hydroxyecdysone. Network pharmacology analysis revealed 107 therapeutic target genes of Cyanotis arachnoidea in DM treatment, and the key targets were Akt1, TNF, IL-6, MAPK3, and JUN. The hypoglycemic mode of action of Cyanotis arachnoidea may be mediated by tumor necrosis factor (TNF) signaling, cancer, insulin resistance, and JAK-STAT pathways. Molecular docking analysis disclosed that the foregoing quality markers effectively bound their key target genes. An in vitro experiment conducted on pancreatic islet β-cells indicated that the forenamed active components of Cyanotis arachnoidea had hypoglycemic efficacy by promoting PI3K/Akt and inhibiting MAPK signaling. UHPLC also accurately quantified the quality markers. The identification and analysis of quality markers for Cyanotis arachnoidea is expected to provide references for the establishment of a quality control evaluation system and clarify the material basis and hypoglycemic mechanisms of this traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).
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Searching for pharmacological targets of ecdysterone-rich Cyanotis arachnoidea extract revealed a network of genes similar to the in vitro and in vivo experiments overviewed here.
“Searching for pharmacological targets of ecdysterone-rich Cyanotis arachnoidea extract revealed a network of genes [92] similar to the in vitro and in vivo experiments overviewed here (Figure 2).”
From Molecular Targets of 20-Hydroxyecdysone in Mammals, Mechanism of Action: Is It a Calorie Restriction Mimetic and Anti-Aging Compound? (2025) · cites this paper as [92]
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“Searching for pharmacological targets of ecdysterone-rich Cyanotis arachnoidea extract revealed a network of genes [92] similar to the in vitro and in vivo experiments overviewed here (Figure 2).”
- Authors
- Hu, J., Feng, Y., Li, B., Wang, F., Qian, Q., Tian, W., Niu, L., & Wang, X.
- Affiliations
- Hebei University of Chinese Medicine (CN)
- Corresponding author
- Niu, Liying
- Wang, Xinguo
- Venue
- PeerJ
- Publisher
- PeerJ
- Published
- 2023-09-11
- Volume
- 11
- Pages
- e15948
- ISSN
- 2167-8359 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC10501370
- OpenAlex
- W4386605283
- Cited by
- 6
- References
- 48
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 3
- FWCI
- 1.83
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- PeerJ (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- Hebei Provincial Key Research and Development Projects (23372502D)
- Natural Science Foundation of Hebei Province (H2022423335)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Complementary and alternative medicine › Traditional Chinese Medicine Analysis
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Natural Antidiabetic Agents Studies
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant Science › Phytochemistry and Biological Activities
- Keywords
- Cyanotis arachnoidea, quality markers, quality control, hypoglycemic mechanism, diabetes mellitus, 20-hydroxyecdysone, chemical pattern recognition, network pharmacology, therapeutic target genes, TNF signaling, JAK/STAT signaling, PI3K/Akt signaling, MAPK signaling, insulin resistance, pancreatic beta cells, traditional Chinese medicine
- MeSH terms
- Network Pharmacology, Ecdysterone, Hypoglycemic Agents, Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases, Commelinaceae, Molecular Docking Simulation
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