In order to clarify the chemical composition characteristics of Blumea balsamifera, screen anti-inflammatory active components, and identify quality markers (Q-markers), and to provide a scientific basis for the quality control of B. balsamifera, a total of 15 B. balsamifera raw herb and 14 powder herb from Zhenfeng, Ceheng and other regions in Guizhou province were utilized for the research. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was employed to establish fingerprint profiles. Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), principal component analysis (PCA), and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) were applied for data processing. To predict the core anti-inflammatory components, a "component-target-pathway" network was constructed using network pharmacology. This prediction was further supplemented by molecular docking verification. A total of 31 compounds were identified. In the GC-MS analysis, 22 and 16 common peaks were calibrated for the B. balsamifera raw herb and powder herb, with sample similarities ranging from 0.971 to 0.997 and 0.991 to 0.999, respectively. The consistency in chemical profiles indicates that the overall quality of the materials is stable. HCA classified B. balsamifera raw herb into 3 clusters and powder herb into 4 clusters. PCA extracted 4 principal components for each sample type, with cumulative contribution rates of 87.137% and 88.495%, respectively, which could effectively characterize sample quality. OPLS-DA identified 5 differential markers (including L-borneol and camphor) from B. balsamifera raw herb and 6 differential markers (including β-caryophyllene and xanthoxylin) from powder herb. Network pharmacology analysis suggested that palmitic acid, 3-octanol, α-eudesmol, γ-eudesmol and perillaldehyde might be the core anti-inflammatory components of B. balsamifera. The components could act on key targets such as EGFR, PTGS2, ESR1, JAK2 and PPARG, and regulate inflammation-related pathways including arachidonic acid metabolism, Th17 cell differentiation, PPAR signaling pathway and JAK-STAT signaling pathway. Molecular docking results showed that the 5 anti-inflammatory components had good binding affinity with target proteins, with binding energies<0 kcal/mol. L-borneol, camphor and γ-eudesmol were identified as the Q-markers of B. balsamifera. The results would provide support for the quality evaluation, anti-inflammatory mechanism research, and efficient resource utilization of B. balsamifera.
| 科 Family | 属数 Number of genus | 种数 Number of species | 占总种数比例 Percentage of total species (%) | 属 Genus | 种数 Number of species | 占总种数比例 Percentage of total species (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 鹅膏菌科Amanitaceae | 2 | 11 | 5.26 | 鹅膏菌属 Amanita | 10 | 4.78 |
| 小菇科 Mycenaceae | 2 | 12 | 5.74 | 丝盖伞属 Inocybe | 5 | 2.39 |
| 多孔菌科 Polyporaceae | 8 | 14 | 6.70 | 蜡蘑属 Laccaria | 5 | 2.39 |
| 红菇科 Russulaceae | 3 | 23 | 11.00 | 小皮伞属 Marasmius | 6 | 2.87 |
| 小菇属 Mycena | 11 | 5.26 | ||||
| 光柄菇属 Pluteus | 5 | 2.39 | ||||
| 红菇属 Russula | 17 | 8.13 | ||||
| 栓菌属 Trametes | 5 | 2.39 |