Systems Pharmacological Approach to the Effect of Bulsu-san Promoting Parturition

Bulsu-san (BSS) has been commonly used in oriental medicine for pregnant women in East Asia. The purpose of this research was to elucidate the effect of BSS on ease of parturition using a systems-level in silico analytic approach. Research results show that BSS is highly connected to the parturition related pathways, biological processes, and organs. There were numerous interactions between most compounds of BSS and multiple target genes, and this was confirmed using herb-compound-target network, target-pathway network, and gene ontology analysis. Furthermore, the mRNA expression of relevant target genes of BSS was elevated significantly in related organ tissues, such as those of the uterus, placenta, fetus, hypothalamus, and pituitary gland. This study used a network analytical approach to demonstrate that Bulsu-san (BSS) is closely related to the parturition related pathways, biological processes, and organs. It is meaningful that this systems-level network analysis result strengthens the basis of clinical applications of BSS on ease of parturition.