ABSTRACT
Aim To elucidate the effective components of Ganoderma applanatum and its mechanism of preventing the coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19).Methods To begin with, UHPLC-Q-Exactive-Orbitrap-MS was established to identify the main chemical constituents of G.applanatum.Then, the predicted targets of G.applanatum were selected by Swiss Target Prediction.GO analysis and KEGG analysis of core target genes were performed using the DAVID database.Finally, to explore the potential mechanism of G.applanatum against COVID-19, core functional components-core target-metabolism path network diagram was constructed using Cytoscape 3.8.0, and molecular docking was used to analyze the binding force of the core effective compounds with angiotensin-converting enzyme II(ACE2)and three SARS CoV-2 proteins, nonstructural protein-15 Endoribonuclease(NSP15), the receptor-binding domain of spike protein(RBD of S protein), and main protease(Mpro/3CLpro).Results Sixty-two components were identified from G.applanatum by UHPLC-Q-Exactive-Orbitrap-MS study; 30 active components were closely associated with 32 core targets including IL6, PTGS2, and MAPK1; KEGG analysis showed that it might treat COVID-19 through signaling pathways, such as PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, TNF signaling pathway, tuberculosis, and so on; molecular docking analysis showed that 1,4-Dihydroxy-2-naphthoic acid, parthenolide, 7,8-Dihydroxycoumarin, and other vital compounds had a certain degree of affinity with ACE2 and three SARS CoV-2 proteins.Conclusion This study clarifies the chemical composition and the potential mechanism of G.applanatum, providing a scientific basis for screening the effective ingredients of G.applanatum.