Use of bailing capsules (cordyceps sinensis) in the treatment of chronic kidney disease: a meta-analysis and network pharmacology

Yilin Tao; Ruixiang Luo; Yuanbing Xiang; Min Lei; Xuan Peng; Yao Hu

doi:10.3389/fphar.2024.1342831

Use of bailing capsules (cordyceps sinensis) in the treatment of chronic kidney disease: a meta-analysis and network pharmacology

Front Pharmacol. 2024 Apr 5:15:1342831. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2024.1342831. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Yilin Tao¹, Ruixiang Luo², Yuanbing Xiang¹, Min Lei¹, Xuan Peng¹, Yao Hu^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medicine Renal Division, Affiliated Hospital & Clinical Medical College of Chengdu University, Chengdu, China.
² The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat Sen University, Guangzhou, China.
³ Department of Medicine Renal Division, West China Hospital, West China School of Medicine, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.

Abstract

The Bailing Capsule is a commonly used traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, its therapeutic effects and pharmacological mechanisms have not been fully explored. In this study, we integrated meta-analysis and network pharmacology to provide scientific evidence for the efficacy and pharmacological mechanism of Bailing Capsule in treating CKD. We conducted searches for randomized controlled studies matching the topic in PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Embase, Web of Science, and the Wanfang Database, and screened them according to predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Dates from the included studies were extracted for meta-analysis, including renal function indicators, such as 24-h urinary protein (24UP), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), and serum creatinine (Scr), as well as inflammatory indicators like high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α). Network pharmacology was employed to extract biological information, including active drug ingredients and potential targets of the drugs and diseases, for network construction and gene enrichment. Our findings indicated that 24UP, BUN, and Scr in the treatment group containing Bailing Capsule were lower than those in the control group. In terms of inflammatory indicators, hs-CRP, IL-6, and TNF-α, the treatment group containing Bailing Capsule also exhibited lower levels than the control group. Based on network pharmacology analysis, we identified 190 common targets of Bailing Capsule and CKD. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses suggested that the pharmacological mechanism of Bailing Capsule might be related to immune response, inflammatory response, vascular endothelial damage, cell proliferation, and fibrosis. This demonstrates that Bailing Capsule can exert therapeutic effects through multiple targets and pathways, providing a theoretical basis for its use.

Keywords: bailing capsules; chronic kidney disease; cordyceps sinensis; meta-analysis; network pharmacology.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by Sichuan Science and Technology Program (2021YFS0159).