Exploration of Gancao Xiexin decoction for treatment of Behcet disease based on network pharmacology and molecular docking

Based on network pharmacology and molecular docking, this study discusses the potential mechanism of Gancao Xiexin decoction in the treatment of Behçet disease (BD) to provide a more reliable theoretical basis for the treatment of BD. METHODS: The effective components and action targets of Gancao Xiexin decoction were obtained by searching the traditional Chinese medicine systems pharmacology database and analysis platform database, and the genome annotation database platform (GeneCards) database Search BD related targets in Online Mendelian inheritance in man database, pharmacogenetics and pharmacogenomics knowledge base database, therapeutic target database and drugbank database, Venny analysis tool was used to overlap drug targets and disease targets; The “active drug active ingredient target gene” network was constructed with the help of Cytoscape 3.8.2 software, and the protein–protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed with string database; R language was used for Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis; Target prediction based on pubchemp platform. RESULTS: A total of 163 active components were identified, with 730 corresponding targets, including 56 common targets of the active components and BD. GO enrichment analysis yielded 1126 entries for biological processes (BP), 17 entries for cellular components, and 89 entries for molecular functions. The significant items of BP enrichment mainly included reaction to lipopolysaccharide, reaction to bacteria-derived molecules, exogenous apoptosis signal pathways, and biological metabolism processes of reactive oxygen species. KEGG pathway enrichment analysis identified 118 significantly enriched pathways. The molecular docking technology verified that its effective components can effectively bind to the corresponding BD related target proteins. CONCLUSION: Gancao Xiexin decoction synergistically treats BD through multi-component, multi-target, and multi-channel mechanisms, which provides a basis for further study of the active components and mechanism of Gancao Xiexin decoction.