Exploring the mechanism of Zhichuanling oral liquid in treating childhood bronchial asthma based on network pharmacology and experimental verification.
Jiao Wang, Jiaxin Li, Xianhe Wang et al.
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In 30 seconds
This randomized controlled study assessed Zhichuanling Oral Liquid (ZCL) added to conventional treatment in 60 children with bronchial asthma, alongside network pharmacology and mouse and cell experiments. Compared with conventional treatment alone, ZCL improved lung-function measures, reduced symptom scores and serum IL-6, SAA, and IgE, and shortened symptom-relief times. The overall effective rate was 86.67% with ZCL versus 60.00% in controls. Experimental findings were consistent with reduced airway inflammation and oxidative stress, potentially involving the SIRT1/NF-κB/IL-17 pathway.
Key findings
- The overall effective rate was 86.67% with ZCL versus 60.00% with conventional treatment alone.
- ZCL improved FVC, FEV1, and PEF and reduced symptom scores and serum IL-6, SAA, and IgE compared with control.
- In mice and airway smooth muscle cells, findings supported reduced inflammation and oxidative stress, potentially through SIRT1/NF-κB/IL-17 signalling.
Why it matters
The study combines a randomized clinical comparison with experimental work, reporting improvements in lung function, symptoms, and inflammatory markers in children receiving ZCL alongside conventional treatment. The mechanistic findings offer a possible explanation for these observations, but the clinical results should be interpreted separately from animal and cell evidence and do not by themselves establish the proposed pathway in children.
What to keep in mind
The clinical comparison included 60 children; the abstract does not report follow-up duration or quantitative lung-function effects. Mechanistic evidence comes from animal and cell experiments.