Background:
To explore the functional mechanism of Sanxiankaixin powder (SXKXP) in preventing and treating reproductive aging (RA) through network pharmacology and molecular docking technology.
Methods:
The traditional Chinese medicine systems pharmacology database and analysis platform was utilized to identify the major active components of SXKXP. The SwissTargetPrediction algorithm was used to identify potential SXKXP targets for RA prevention and treatment. GeneCards and OMIM were used to identify RA disease targets, whereas Venny 2.1.0 was utilized to find common targets. Protein-protein interaction analysis was conducted with STRING, and network diagrams were created with Cytoscape. We performed a gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis using the DAVID database. The compound-drug–component-core target-KEGG pathway networks were created with Cytoscape software. Finally, we used PubChem, UniProt, PDB, PyMoL, and AutoDock software for molecular docking.
Results:
It was found that 93 effective components in SXKXP directly acted on 56 core disease targets to prevent and treat RA through multiple pathways, among which kaempferol, luteolin, 8-Prenylkaempferol, quercetin, and Schisandrol B were the core components, and AKT1, estrogen receptor 1 (ESR1), glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), tumor necrosis factor (TNF), and interleukin 6 (IL-6) were important targets. The results of the GO enrichment analysis showed that apoptosis, cell proliferation, plasma membrane, and ATP binding may be closely related to RA. The KEGG pathway enrichment analysis results suggested that the AGE-RAGE signaling pathway in diabetic complications and the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway play important roles. Molecular docking results suggested that the core components were well bound to important targets.
Conclusion:
SXKXP interferes with biological processes such as oxidation and inflammatory reactions through multiple targets and pathways to prevent and treat RA. This study provides the research direction and theoretical basis for the experimental research of SXKXP on RA prevention and treatment.
