Current
hormone-based treatments for
immune thrombocytopenic purpura (
ITP) are associated with potentially serious adverse reactions. Zi Dian Fang (ZDF) is a multi-target
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) used to treat both the symptoms and root causes of
ITP, with fewer side effects than
hormone-based treatments. This study analysis of the
therapeutic effects of ZDF on
ITP from three aspects: platelet proliferation, immunoregulation, and
inflammation. After detection of 52 chemical constituents of ZDF by UPLC-Q-TOF/MS, The main targets and pathways affected by ZDF were screened by network pharmacology and verified by Western blot and ELISA. Meanwhile, metabolomics analysis were applied to a mouse model of
ITP to identify and screen endogenous terminal metabolites differentially regulated by ZDF. Integrated network pharmacology and metabolomics analysis of the
therapeutic effects of ZDF on
ITP may be as follows: ZDF counteracts
ITP symptoms mainly by inhibiting Ras/MAPKs (Ras/
Mitogen-activated protein kinases) pathway, and the expression of upstream
protein (Ras) and downstream
protein (p-ERK, p-JNK, p-p38) were inhibited, which affects the content of effect index associated with proliferation (
Thrombopoietin, TPO;
Granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor,
GM-CSF),
inflammation (
Tumor necrosis factor-α, TNF-α;
Interleukin-6, IL-6), immune (
Interleukin-2, IL-2;
Interferon-gamma, IFN-γ;
Interleukin-4, IL-4), so that the body's
arginine, Δ12-prostaglandin j2 (Δ12-PGJ2),
9-cis-Retinoic Acid,
sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P),
oleic acid amide and other 12 endogenous metabolites significantly changes. Considering the established safety profile, the present study suggests ZDF may be a useful alternative to
hormone-based
therapies for the treatment of
ITP.