In silico Identification of Forsythiae fructus Ingredients and Mechanistic Investigation of its Effect against Neuronal Injury

Abstract

Purpose: Neuronal damage is a serious medical disorder that affects the entire universe population. Traditional Chinese Medicines have a multifarious-target, multifarious-component and multifrious-pathway mechanism for treating ailments. Traditional Chinese Medicine Forsythiae fructus have neuroprotective properties. It is a clinical based herb used for the treatment of neuronal injury but its action mechanism is still uncertain. The goal of this study is to use network pharmacology to understand the underlying mechanism of Forsythiae fructus in treating neuronal damage. Methodology: According to the literature of Forsythiae fructus chemical ingredients and targets were searched using TCMSP database. Afterwards, protein-protein interaction network was constructed through STITCH database. Then pathways were analyzed through GO enrichment analysis using plugin-ClueGO. Results: Total number of active ingredients were found to be 38 associated with 145 targets. The screening of these targets resulted in the identification of 17 targets that are linked to neuronal damage. The investigation of GeneOntology (GO) and pathway enrichment yielded a total of 261 GO terms. The main hubs such as MAPK1, AKT1, Estrogen, Estradiol, ESR1, SRC, CREBBP and SP1 were found to be associated with neuronal injury. Molecular docking of arctiin, beta-sitosterol, hyperforin, kaempferol, phyllirin and quercitin demonstrated minimum docking score with the targets AKT1, ESR1 and SRC. Conclusion: The results suggest that Forsythiae fructus could be very effective in the treatment of neuronal injury. The results also suggested that beta-sitosterol and quercitin have a good affinity with AKT1 against neuronal injury.