Uncovering the mechanism of Ge-Gen-Qin-Lian decoction for treating ulcerative colitis based on network pharmacology and molecular docking verification

Abstract Background: Ge-Gen-Qin-Lian Decoction (GGQLD), a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formula, has been widely used for ulcerative colitis (UC) in China, but the pharmacological mechanisms remain unclear. This research was designed to clarify the underlying pharmacological mechanism of GGQLD against UC. Method: In this research, a GGQLD-compound-target-UC network was constructed based on public databases to clarify the relationship between active compounds in GGQLD and potential targets. Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses were performed to investigate biological functions associated with potential targets. A protein–protein interaction network was constructed to screen and evaluate hub genes and key active ingredients. Molecular docking was used to verify the activities of binding between hub targets and ingredients. Results: Finally, 83 potential therapeutic targets and 118 corresponding active ingredients were obtained by network pharmacology. Quercetin, kaempferol, wogonin, baicalein, and naringenin were identified as potential candidate ingredients. GO and KEGG enrichment analyses revealed that GGQLD had anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, and immunomodulatory effects. The effect of GGQLD on UC might be achieved by regulating the balance of cytokines (e.g., IL-6, TNF, IL-1β, CXCL8, CCL2) in the immune system and inflammation-related pathways, such as the IL-17 pathway and the Th17 cell differentiation pathway. In addition, molecular docking results demonstrated that the main active ingredient, quercetin, exhibited good affinity to hub targets. Conclusion: This research fully reflects the multicomponent and multitarget characteristics of GGQLD in the treatment of UC. Furthermore, the present study provided new insight into the mechanisms of GGQLD against UC.