Abstract
PURPOSE: This study aims to explore the mechanism of Bazi Bushen Capsule (BZBS) in treating skin laxity by combining network pharmacology and clinical research. METHODS: The active ingredients and potential drug targets of BZBS were obtained from TCMSP, TCMBANK, and SuperTCM databases. The potential disease targets of skin laxity were obtained from GeneCards, OMIM, and DisGeNET databases. The common core targets and key compounds were determined using Cytoscape software to construct the Drug Key Compound-Target network and Protein-Protein Interaction network. The mechanism of BZBS in treating skin laxity was revealed by Gene Ontology and KEGG enrichment analysis. Subsequently, to further verify the analysis results, a prospective single-group clinical trial was conducted, including 35 female volunteers with skin laxity. The planned study visits were initially scheduled for a 12-week period. The volunteers' average depth of skin wrinkles, skin elasticity parameters, and skin moisture content were examined at 0 week before the experiment and 12 weeks after the experiment. RESULTS: Network pharmacology shows that key compounds are quercetin, kaempferol, arachidonate, suchilactone, ammidin, deoxyharringtonine, sitosterol, mandenol, ethyl linolenate, stigmasterol, poriferast-5-en-3beta-ol, and cholesterol; core targets include AKT1, IL6, TP53, TNF, EGFR, TGFB1, JUN, MMP9, MTOR, and MMP2; the Relaxin, MAPK, PI3K-Akt, JAK-STAT signaling pathways, and cellular senescence may be the main ways for BZBS in treating skin laxity. After BZBS treatment, the average wrinkling depth of the enrolled volunteers decreased, and the skin elasticity and moisture content increased. CONCLUSION: BZBS may treat skin laxity by repairing the mucosal barrier, regulating protein metabolism, and showing good therapeutic effects. TRIAL REGISTRATION: WHO-recognized clinical trial registry: ChiCTR2200058262.