Antifatigue Effect and Mechanism of Polygonatum kingianum Based on Network Pharmacology

Purpose To investigate the potential antifatigue mechanism of Polygonatum kingianum based on network pharmacology.

Methods The main active ingredients of P. kingianum were searched from Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform (TCMSP), CNKI and DrugBank databases, and the potential targets of these active ingredients of P. kingianum were predicted by the SwissTargetPrediction database. The network of the active ingredients and antifatigue targets of P. kingianum was contructed through Venny 2.1.0 and Cytoscape v3.9.0, and the key active ingredients of P. kingianum were screened according to the degree values of nodes. The protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed by the String database, and the key antifatigue targets of P. kingianum were screened by the degree values of nodes. Gene Ontology (GO) analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis were performed on the obtained the key targets using the DAVID database. Molecular docking of key ingredients to the key targets was performed using AutoDock Vina software.

Results A total of 38 active ingredients, and 30 potential antifatigue targets of P. kingianum were obtained. Three main active ingredients (3′-methoxydaidzein, baicalein and beta-sitosterol) of P. kingianum were screened. The PPI network showed that EGFR, STAT3, PTPN11, ERBB2, ESR1, and JAK2 were the key targets of antifatigue effects of P. kingianum. GO analysis and KEGG pathway analysis showed that the antifatigue effects of P. kingianum involved 68 items and 39 pathways. The results of molecular docking showed that the main active ingredients of P. kingianum bound stably to the key targets of antifatigue.

Conclusion A topological network of P. kingianum-active ingredients-antifatigue is constructed through network pharmacology in this study. The main active ingredients and the key antifatigue targets of P. kingianum are explored, and the molecular docking between the main active ingredients and the key targets is carried out. The results provide a theoretical basis for the antifatigue efficacy of P. kingianum.