Using Pharmacokinetic-Pharmacodynamic Modeling to Study the Main Active Substances of the Anticancer Effect in Mice from Panax ginseng-Ophiopogon japonicus

Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma Rubra (Panax ginseng C.A. Mey, Hongshen, in Chinese) and Ophiopogonis Radix (Ophiopogon japonicus (L.f) Ker-Gawl., Maidong, in Chinese) are traditional Chinese herbal pairs, which were clinically employed to enhance the immune system of cancer patients. This study employed the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic (PK-PD) spectrum-effect association model to investigate the antitumor active substances of P. ginseng and O. japonicus (PG-OJ). The metabolic processes of 20 major bioactive components were analyzed using Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry/Mass Spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) in the lung tissue of tumor-bearing mice treated with PG-OJ. The ELISA method was employed to detect the levels of TGF-beta 1, TNF-alpha, and IFN-gamma in the lung tissue of mice at various time points, and to analyze their changes after drug administration. The results showed that all components presented a multiple peaks absorption pattern within 0.083 to 24 h post-drug administration. The tumor inhibition rate of tumor and repair rate of IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha, and TGF-beta 1 all increased, indicating a positive therapeutic effect of PG-OJ on A549 tumor-bearing mice. Finally, a PK-PD model based on the GBDT algorithm was developed for the first time to speculate that Methylophiopogonanone A, Methylophiopogonanone B, Ginsenoside Rb1, and Notoginsenoside R1 are the main active components in PG-OJ for lung cancer treatment.