ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE：To explore the mo lecular mechanism of Chaihu shugan powder in the adjunctive treatment of major depressive disorder （MDD）. METHODS ：Network pharmacology was adopted. The microarray dataset GSE 76826 was downloaded from GEO common database ，and the limma package was used to screen the differently expressed genes in the samples of MDD patients. The active ingredients and corresponding targets of Chaihu shugan powder were screened out based on TCMSP platform. Through the online software venny 2.1.0，the differently expressed genes of MDD and the targets of Chaihu shugan powder were screened，and the common target genes of Chaihu shugan powder for MDD were obtained. The target genes were introduced into Cytoscape 3.6.1 software to construct the network diagram of “Chaihu shugan powder active ingredients-MDD target gene ”. Then ， BisoGenet plug-in was used to construct the PPI network ，analyze the topological structure and screen the core target gene. KEGG pathway analysis was conducted. RESULTS ：There were 139 active components of Chaihu shugan powder for the treatment of MDD，including quercetin ，kaempferol，luteolin，stigmasterol，etc. There were 8 core target genes ，including NR3C2，DPP4， ALOX5，GSTM1，CCND1，IGFBP3 and so on. They play an important role in the treatment of MDD via signaling pathway such as regulating cell receptor ，purine metabolism ，steroid biosynthesis ，aminoacyl biosynthesis ，etc. CONCLUSIONS ：Chaihu shugan powder can play a role in the adjunctive treatment of MDD through multiple targets and pathways ，which can provide a theoretical basis for the follow-up study of its mechanism.