Potential Pharmacological Effects of Sanhuang Erxiang Powder in the Treatment of Ultraviolet-induced Skin Damage: Insights from Network Pharmacology and Experimental Validation

Objectives: Prolonged and intense ultraviolet (UV) exposure can cause skin photoaging diseases. Therefore, there is a need for more natural and safe drugs to treat UV skin damage diseases. Methods: This study explored the mechanism of Sanhuang Erxiang Powder (SHEX) in the treatment of UV-induced skin through network pharmacology and verified the results by creating UV-induced injury models in BJ human fibroblasts and SD rats. Results: A total of 707 SHEX targets, 7244 UV damage targets, and 651 drug-disease targets were obtained by network pharmacology. The enrichment analysis suggested that SHEX may have a therapeutic role in UV damage through the MAPK signaling pathway. The in vitro model demonstrated that SHEX significantly increased BJ fibroblast viability as well as intracellular antioxidant enzyme levels. In vivo experiments showed that SHEX reduced the degree of skin damage in rats, increased the levels of antioxidant enzymes in skin tissues, and inhibited the release of p38 MAPK and MMP-1 in the MAPK signaling pathway. Conclusion: SHEX can be used to treat UV damage by a mechanism that may be related to antioxidant effects and the inhibition of p38 MAPK and MMP-1 release.