Exploring the Molecular Mechanism of Tong Xie Yao Fang in Treating Ulcerative Colitis Using Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the mechanisms of action of Tong Xie Yao Fang (TXYF) against ulcerative colitis (UC) by employing a network pharmacology approach. METHODS: The network pharmacology approach, including screening of the active ingredients and targets, construction of the active ingredient-drug target network, the active ingredient-diseasetarget network, the protein–protein interaction (PPI) network, enrichment analyses, molecular docking, and targets validation, was used to explore the mechanisms of TXYF against UC. RESULTS: 34 active ingredients and 129 and 772 targets of TXYF and UC, respectively, were identified. The intersection of the active ingredient-drug target network, the active ingredient-disease target network, and the PPI network suggested that kaempferol, beta-sitosterol, wogonin, and naringenin were the core ingredients and prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2 (PTGS2) was the core target. Enrichment analyses showed that regulation of exogenous protein binding and other functions were of great significance. Nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) signaling pathway, interleukin-17 (IL-17) signaling pathway, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) signaling pathway were important pathways. Results of molecular docking indicated that the core ingredients and the target molecule had strong binding affinities. We have validated the high levels of expression of PTGS2 in UC by analyzing three additional datasets from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. CONCLUSIONS: There are multiple ingredients, targets, and pathways involved in TXYF's effectiveness against UC, and these findings will promote further research and clinical applications.