Potential mechanism of Astragalus membranaceus in the prevention of COVID-19 based on network pharmacology and molecular docking

ABSTRACT

Objective: To explore the potential molecular mechanism of Astragalus membranaceus in the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)based on the network pharmacology and molecular docking. Methods The traditional Chinese medicine systems pharmacology database and analysis platform(TCMSP)and the related literature were searched to obtain the active ingredients and predictive targets of Astragalus membranaceus. The herbal targets were selected based on STRING database for PPI network construction and the results were displayed by Cytoscape software. The key targets were screened through the algorithm of network topology and the network modules were analyzed. Gene Ontology(GO)analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG)pathway enrichment analysis were carried out on key target genes using Gene Ontology Enrichment Analysis Software Toolkit(GOEAST)and The Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery(DAVID)online tools. Combined with relevant literature, the mechanism of Astragalus membranaceus in the treatment of COVID-19 was analyzed. Results A total of 19 candidate active components and 889 predictive targets of Astragalus membranaceus were selected by oral bioavailability(OB)and drug-likeness(DL)values. The preventive mechanism of Astragalus membranaceus might be closely related to the signal pathways involved in the body's living nerve ligand receptor interaction, calcium signal, T cell receptor, cAMP signal pathway and chemokines. Conclusion Astragalus membranaceus mainly plays roles in many kinds of targets through multi-approach and multi-signaling pathways.