Objective To explore the active ingredients, targets and the mechanism of action of Chuanxiong-Danshen drug pair based on the network pharmacological research method.

Methods Taking Chuanxiong and Danshen as key words, their active ingredients, targets and corresponding disease data were retrieved from Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology (TCMSP) database, and the multi-layer and multi-target network map was constructed to conduct Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG) enrichment analysis, so as to explore the mechanism of action of Chuanxiong-Danshen drug pair. Determination of active components of Chuanxiong-Danshen by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) fingerprint.

Results The "drug-composition-target-disease" network included 2 kinds of drugs, 15 ingredients, 72 targets, and 187 diseases. Key targets included aldo-keto reductase family 1 member B1 (AKR1B1), carbonic anhydrase 2 (CA2), carbonic anhydrase 1 (CA1), acetaldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2), prostaglandin G/H synthetase 1 (PTGS1), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9), matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP2), norepinephrine transporter (SLC6A2) and adenosine receptor A1 (ADORA1). It involved in pain, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer's disease, prostate cancer and cerebral injury, etc. There were 223 GO enrichment items, including 165 biological processes, 30 molecular functions and 28 cell compositions. A total of 78 pathways were identified by KEGG enrichment analysis, including cancer pathway, neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, hepatitis B signaling pathway, etc. Six peaks of sitosterol, ligustrazine, tanshinol B, carnophenol one, luteolin and Perlolyrine were detected by HPLC fingerprint.

Conclusion In Chuanxiong-Danshen drug pair, active ingredients act on multiple targets, and has a therapeutic effect on pain, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer's disease, prostate cancer, brain injury and other diseases.