Network Pharmacology Integrated Molecular Docking Revealed the Mechanism of Jianpi Yiqi Taohua Decoction Against Ulcerative Colitis

BACKGROUND: Jianpi Yiqi Taohua decoction (JYTD) has shown therapeutic effects in ulcerative colitis (UC). However, the pharmacological mechanism of JYTD against UC remains unclear. MATERIAL/METHODS: Compounds and targets of JYTD and UC-related genes were screened from public databases. Integrated analysis was performed to identify therapeutic targets of UC, followed by functional enrichment analysis. Protein–protein interaction (PPI) and pharmacological networks were then established. Molecular docking was used to validate the affinity of compounds and their targets. Further, the efficacy of JYTD was evaluated by meta-analysis. Relevant studies were searched from 5 databases. Outcomes were complete response rate (CRR) and overall response rate (ORR), and pooled results were estimated by risk ratio (RR) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS: The pharmacological network identified 13 herbal medicines, 28 compounds, 54 targets, and 20 pathways. Stigmasterol, liquiritigenin, and naringenin were potential active compounds, and PRKCA, NFKB1, ESR1, NTRK1, AKT1, PPARG, RXRA, and VDR were hub targets. Pathway analysis revealed that genes were mainly involved in the cellular response to lipids. Molecular docking indicated that AKT1, NFKB1, ESR1, NTRK1, PRKCA, and PPARG exhibited good affinity to 6 key compounds of JYTD. Then, meta-analysis revealed that Tao Hua decoction treatment significantly improved CRR (RR, 1.21; 95% CI, 1.06–1.37; P=0.004) and ORR (RR, 1.16; 95% CI, 1.08–1.24; P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: JYTD was found to have preventive and therapeutic effects on UC through multiple compounds, targets, and pathways. These findings enhanced our understanding of the potential pharmacological mechanisms of JYTD against UC.