Mechanism of Action of Gancao Xiexin Decoction in the Treatment of Recurrent Oral Ulcer Based on Network Pharmacology
Objective:To explore the mechanism of action of Gancao Xiexin decoction in the treatment of recurrent oral ulcer.Methods:The chemical constituents of seven traditional Chinese medicines of Gancao Xiexin decoction were retrieved from the Traditional Chinese Medicines System Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform(TCMSP).Effective active components and their protein targets were identified.A network diagram of"traditional Chinese medicine-active components-related targets"was constructed and the key active ingredient was determined based on degree value.Identify the relevant disease targets associated with recurrent oral ulcer.Combine the targets of traditional Chinese medicine components with disease-related targets to obtain the intersection targets.Analyze the intersection of the targets to determine protein-protein interaction(PPI),and construct a PPI network to identify the core targets.Gene ontology(GO)and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes(KEGG)enrichment analysis was conducted on the intersection targets of traditional Chinese medicine components and diseases.Perform molecular docking simulation calculations and visualize the key active components along with the top 4 core targets based on degree value.Results:A total of 164 active components of Gancao Xiexin decoction were identified,involving 268 active ingredient targets.GO enrichment analysis yielded a total of 3078 items,while KEGG analysis enriched 174 signal pathways.Molecular docking results indicated successful binding of the selected key active components to the core targets.Conclusion:Network pharmacology suggests that Gancao Xiexin decoction primarily treats recurrent oral ulcer through β-sitosterol,stigmasterol,quercetin and kaempferol.It may target key proteins such as TNF,IL-1β,IL-6,CCL2,NOS3,and modulate pathways such as AGE-RAGE,NF-κB,IL-17 in the treatment of recurrent oral ulcers.
Gancao Xiexin decoctionrecurrent oral ulcernetwork pharmacologymolecular dockingmechanism of action