HerbComb: an integrated database for the discovery of novel combinational therapies from herbal medicines

Abstract

Drug combinations have gained increasing interest due to their potential for optimal efficacy and the ability to overcome drug resistance. Herbal medicine is a complex system with multiple ingredients and has illustrated apparent therapeutic effects through thousands of years of clinical experience, offering a rich resource for combinational therapies. However, the underlying mechanism of their synergistic therapeutic effects for disease treatment remains obscure for most herbal medicines. To fill this gap, we developed an integrated database named HerbComb (https://herbcomb.com/) to discover combinatorial therapies in herbal medicine, featuring three unique functions: drug prepositioning, customized combinatorial analysis, and biological and pharmacological features. Additionally, transcriptional gene signatures and ADMET properties were also interrogated as interactive functionalities to facilitate combinational analysis. Using Tongxinluo for Stroke as a case study, we identified and validated Oleanolic acid and Ferulic acid as synergistic ingredients. In summary, HerbComb is a versatile data exploration platform designed to characterize synergistic interactions among herbal medicines, enhancing the understanding of synergistic mechanisms and facilitating the discovery of effective drug combinations.