Integrating metabolomics and network pharmacology to assess the effects of Mahuang Xixin Fuzi decoction on migraine rats induced by nitroglycerin

Objectives: This study was designed to investigate the pharmacological activity and therapeutic mechanism of Mahuang Xixin Fuzi decoction (MXFD) on migraine. Methods: Migraine model rats induced by nitroglycerin were established, and then orally administered with MXFD for 7 days. Blood and urine samples were collected to identify differential metabolites with metabolomics. To integrate the findings from network pharmacology and metabolomics analysis, the metabolites and targets related to MXFD therapy for migraine were filtered. Key findings: MXFD was found to alleviate the symptoms of migraines in rats. After treatment with MXFD, nine metabolites were found to be regulated and returned to normal levels. MXFD acted directly on nine key targets including MAOB, MAOA, ADRB1, ADRB2, ADRB3, ADORA2A, ADORA2B, DRD5, and HTR4 and regulated two out of nine metabolites, namely deoxycholic acid and 5-methoxyindoleacetate. Conclusions: The study found that MXFD can alleviate migraines through multitarget and multicomponent interaction networks.