Exploring material basis and mechanism of Lianhua Qingwen Prescription against coronavirus based on network pharmacology / 中草药

ABSTRACT

Objective: To explore the active compounds and mechanism of Lianhua Qingwen Prescription for the treatment of coronavirus, and provide a reference for the treatment of COVID-19. Methods: With the help of TCMSP, Batman, Swiss Target Prediction and other databases, the chemical constituents and targets of Lianhua Qingwen Prescription were retrieved. Coronavirus disease targets were screened by GeneCards. Cytoscape software was used to construct a “drug-component-target-disease” interaction network map and potential target interactions, and the action mechanism was predicted through enrichment analysis. The main active ingredients of Lianhua Qingwen Prescription were verified by molecular docking with Mpro and ACE2. Results: A total of 100 active ingredients, 636 drug targets, and 347 disease targets were excavated, and 67 drug-disease common targets were obtained. The key targets involved PTGS2, IL6, CASP3, MAPK1, EGFR, ACE2, etc. A total of 1 946 entries were obtained by GO enrichment analysis, which mainly involved T cell activation, viral receptors, and inflammatory responses. KEGG pathway enrichment screened 166 signaling pathways, including renin-angiotensin system, Toll-like receptor signaling pathway, JAK-STAT signaling pathway, T cell receptor signaling pathway, TNF signaling pathway and so on. The molecular docking results showed that kaempferol, quercetin and luteolin had good binding ability with Mpro; And glycyrrhetinic acid, stigmasterol, indigo had good binding ability with ACE2. Conclusion: Lianhua Qingwen Prescription acts on coronavirus through multiple components, multiple targets, and multiple pathways. The main components have good binding ability with Mpro and ACE2, so as to have a therapeutic effect on COVID-19.