Some wild plant resources as potential herbal medicines with multi-component and multi-target properties, like Traditional Chinese medicines, could offer promising complementary strategies. Blachia genara plants deserves further exploration of the medicinal value due to the absence of documented ethnomedicinal applications. Molecular network (MN) technology coupled with network pharmacology, a powerful approach for deciphering bioactive potential in chemically uncharacterized species, was helpful in exploring the potential medicinal value. This study explored the leaves of B. siamensis (BSL), an understudied Euphorbiaceae species, using molecular networking (GNPS, FBMN) and network pharmacology. Comprehensive metabolite profiling identified 76 previously unreported constituents from Blachia, including flavonoids, phenolic acids, and fatty acid conjugates. Through multi-target network analysis, BSL components suggested potential anti-rheumatoid arthritis (RA) activity by modulating 73 core targets, including key regulators like GAPDH, TP53, IL6, and TNF. Pathway enrichment highlighted mechanistic intersections with prostate cancer, lipid metabolism disorders, viral infections, diabetic complications, and endocrine resistance, suggesting pleiotropic therapeutic effects. This study suggested that BSL rich in flavonoids might have considerable potential for various medicinal applications, warranting further phytochemical and pharmacological investigation. Furthermore, the successful application of molecular networking in this previously unexplored species establishes a paradigm for accelerating drug discovery from underexplored medicinal plants.
Zhang et al. (Wed,) studied this question.