[Quality markers of Cordyceps militaris in improving respiratory diseases]

This study predicted the quality markers of Cordyceps militaris in improving respiratory diseases by employing high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC) fingerprint, chemometric analysis, and network pharmacology and preliminarily validated them through anti-inflammatory activity evaluation in vitro, providing reference for quality control of C. militaris. HPLC was used to establish fingerprints of fifteen batches of C. militaris, and chemometric analysis was performed to preliminarily screen out differential components. A "component-target-pathway" network was constructed utilizing network pharmacology to further predict quality markers of C. militaris in improvement of respiratory diseases. The inflammatory model of the BEAS-2B cell was induced by lipopolysaccharide, and the levels of inflammatory factors interleukin(IL)-6, IL-1β, and tumor necrosis factor(TNF)-α were detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction(PCR) to verify the activity of quality markers. Their content was determined by HPLC. In the fingerprints of the fifteen batches of C. militaris, eight common peaks were calibrated, and five main components were identified with similarities between 0.893 and 0.996. Five differential compounds were preliminarily screened through chemometric analysis. Seven efficacy related ingredients were predicted by network pharmacology. Based on the "five principles" characteristics of TCM quality markers, four functional components, namely uridine, guanosine, adenosine, and cordycepin, were ultimately selected as quality markers of C. militaris for improving respiratory diseases. Furthermore, the quality markers were found to significantly inhibit the expression of IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α, exerting anti-inflammatory effects in in vitro experiments. Their average content was 0.198%, 0.142%, 0.258%, and 0.116%, respectively. This study comprehensively utilized HPLC fingerprint, chemometrics, network pharmacology, and activity evaluation to predict the quality markers of C. militaris in improving respiratory diseases. The study provides references for improving the quality evaluation standard system of C. militaris and lays a foundation for exploring its mechanism in treating respiratory diseases.