RESUMO
Aim To explore the potential targets and mechanisms of Houpuwenzhongtang for the treatment of spleen and stomach deficiency cold stomach disease. Methods Firstly, TCMSP database, disease database and compound target prediction platform were used to collect active components, disease targets and predict potential targets. Secondly, Cytoscape 3.7.2 and String platform were used to screen key chemical components and core targets, and PPI network diagram was constructed. Finally, The active components with degree greater than 30 were used for molecular docking with key targets, and some docking results were selected for cell experiment. Results The key active components of Houpuwenzhongtang in the treatment of spleen and stomach deficiency cold stomach disease were hesperidin, magnolol, 6-gingerol, and so on. The key targets were JUN, AKT1, IL-8, etc.. The related pathways mainly involved immune response, signaling transduction, cell proliferation and apoptosis. Molecular docking results showed that the key active components had good binding activity with disease targets. The results of cell experiments showed that magnolol, hesperidin and 6-gingerol had different degrees of anti-inflammatory activity against IL-8 in a dose-dependent manner. Conclusions It is speculated that Houpuwenzhongtang may act on IL-8, JUN, AKT1 and other targets through magnolol, hesperidin,6-gingerol and other active ingredients, and participate in the regulation of PI3K-AKT signaling pathway, N F-K B signaling pathway for the treatment of spleen and stomach deficiency cold stomach disease. And it is found for the first time that 6-gingerol could stably bind to multiple disease targets related spleen and stomach deficiency cold stomach disease,such as AKT1,IL-8 and so on. The result suggests that 6-gingerol is worth further research. Through the results of IL-8 cell experiment, it is speculated that the components such as magnolol and hesperidin may play a role in gastric diseases caused by Helicobacter pylori infection by reducing the content of IL-8 in gastric mucosa.