Study on quality markers of Mongolian medicine Guangmingyan Siwei Tangsan for the treatment of functional dyspepsia based on HPLC fingerprintingOA

Background:Functional dyspepsia(FD)is a common gastrointestinal disorder,and Guangmingyan Siwei Tangsan(GST)has demonstrated significant efficacy in its treatment.However,the mechanism of action and quality standards of GST remain insufficiently understood.This study aims to systematically identify the quality markers(Q-Markers)of GST,providing a scientific foundation for its quality control and mechanistic research.Methods:The HPLC technique was used to establish the fingerprint profile of GST,followed by similarity evaluation and cluster analysis to assess the compositional consistency across different batches.Network pharmacology was employed to predict potential targets of GST,which were then intersected with 2,925 human proteins from the FinnGen database to identify relevant targets.Further,Mendelian randomization(MR)analysis was conducted to explore the causal relationship between these targets and FD,and molecular docking was used to validate their interactions.Finally,the Q-markers of GST were predicted based on the traceability,detectability,and efficacy of its chemical components.Results:A total of 29 common peaks were identified in the fingerprint profile.Hierarchical cluster analysis(HCA)and principal component analysis(PCA)grouped the 13 GST batches into three major clusters,while partial least-squares discrimination analysis(PLS-DA)identified 19 potential differential compounds.Network pharmacology combined with MR analysis revealed that ellagic acid,6-gingerol,and piperlonguminine may exert therapeutic effects on FD by targeting key receptors,including Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2(HER2,also known as ERBB2),the rearranged during transfection proto-oncogene(RET),and Transient Receptor Potential Cation Channel Subfamily V Member 3(TRPV3).Among these,ellagic acid was identified as a potential Q-marker of GST.Conclusion:This study combined HPLC fingerprinting,chemometric pattern recognition,network pharmacology,and MR to identify ellagic acid as a Q-Marker of GST for FD treatment,providing a foundation for further mechanistic research and quality standard optimization.