RESUMO
Objective To investigate the pharmacological mechanism of Chaihudaxiong mixture in the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) based on a network pharmacology approach. Methods The effective ingredients and targets of Chaihudaxiong mixture were collected from Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform (TCMSP). The targets’ names were standardized by Uniprot database. Genes associated with coronavirus were obtained from the GeneCards and OMIM, which were intersected with effective therapeutic targets. A "herbs-ingredients-targets" network was compiled and analyzed by Cytoscape 3.7.2. The protein-protein interaction of the targets was analyzed by String. The GO gene annotation and KEGG signaling pathway analysis were performed using related packages of the R software. Results A total of 165 active ingredients and 51 targets were collected. Further analysis revealed that the main active ingredients were β-sitosterol and 11 flavonoids. The core targets were CASP3, MAPK3, IL-6, MAPK8, IL-10, CXCL8, MAPK1 and IL-1B. A total of 1722 GO entries were obtained from the GO gene annotation (P<0.05), including 1612 entries for biological processes, 30 entries for cell composition, and 80 entries for molecular functions. 156 signaling pathways (P<0.05) were obtained with KEGG signaling pathway screen. The important signaling pathways were AGE-RAGE signaling pathway in diabetic complication, Influenza A, IL-17 signaling pathway, TNF signaling pathway and hepatitis B. Conclusion This study revealed the synergistic features of multi-component, multi-target, and multi-pathway of Chaihudaxiong mixture in the treatment of COVID-19, which provided an important scientific basis for further understanding the mechanism of Chaihudaxiong mixture in the treatment of COVID-19.