RidgeCrest Herbals validates ClearLungs® respiratory support using CytoSolve®’s systems architecture to model multi-herb synergy across lung congestion pathways

RidgeCrest Herbals is a nutraceutical company specializing in botanical formulations rooted in traditional Chinese herbal medicine. Its flagship product ClearLungs® combines thirteen traditionally used Chinese herbs intended to support healthy respiratory function. RidgeCrest Herbals partnered with CytoSolve® to mechanistically characterize ClearLungs® using computational systems biology modeling aligned to respiratory health.

Challenge

Lung congestion is driven by interacting physiological processes that cannot be fully explained through a single pathway or isolated biomarker. It commonly involves inflammation, excess mucus production, and impaired airway smooth muscle relaxation, contributing to fluid stagnation and obstructed airflow. While ClearLungs® has been used to support respiratory health, RidgeCrest sought systems-level mechanistic validation of how a 13-herb formulation could produce coordinated benefits.

Traditional experimental approaches face practical limitations when:

Many bioactives act simultaneously across interconnected pathways

Synergy emerges from combination effects rather than single ingredients

Testing every compound and permutation becomes prohibitively complex

A unified, quantitative framework was needed to evaluate the combined formulation as an integrated biological intervention.

How CytoSolve Helped

CytoSolve® applied its computational systems biology platform to construct an integrative in silico systems architecture for lung congestion and then evaluate ClearLungs® within that framework. Systematic literature review → pathway blueprint: Identified molecular pathways implicated in lung congestion physiology and respiratory function.

Pathway-to-model translation: Converted identified pathways into validated mathematical models representing key respiratory subsystems.

Subsystem identification: Organized lung congestion biology into three core systems:
  • Inflammation
  • Mucus homeostasis (including mucin-associated production contributing to mucus buildup)
  • Airway smooth muscle cell relaxation
Dynamic integration with CytoSolve®: Integrated validated subsystem models into a single in silico environment to preserve cross-talk and molecular interdependencies.
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Dose-relevant combination simulation: Simulated the combined effects of bioactive molecules in ClearLungs® at recommended dose levels, enabling direct assessment of multi-ingredient synergy across all three systems simultaneously.

Key Benefits Realized

  • Systems-level mechanistic insight into lung congestion as an integrated, multi-process condition
  • Clear identification of inflammation, mucus regulation, and smooth muscle relaxation as primary therapeutic targets for respiratory congestion
  • Quantitative demonstration of synergistic effects among multi-botanical ingredients within one coherent framework
  • Scientific substantiation of a complex herbal formulation using predictive in silico modeling
  • Reduced reliance on fragmented single-pathway experimentation for high-dimensional botanical combinations

Outcome

CytoSolve®’s in silico modeling indicated that the combined bioactive ingredients in RidgeCrest Herbals’ ClearLungs® can synergistically alleviate lung congestion by acting across multiple biological systems at once. Simulations showed reduced inflammatory signaling, decreased mucin-associated production contributing to mucus buildup, and increased airway smooth muscle relaxation, supporting improved airway openness.

Overall, the collaboration provided RidgeCrest Herbals with a robust computational foundation to validate ClearLungs® as a multi-target, systems-level respiratory support formulation, while demonstrating how CytoSolve®’s systems architecture can translate botanical complexity into mechanistically interpretable, dose-relevant evidence.