Mechanistic study of Banxia Xiexin Tang in the treatment of antibiotic-associated gastrointestinal adverse signs based on network pharmacology
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Abstract
This study aimed to elucidate the mechanisms of action of Banxia Xiexin Tang (半夏泻心汤) in the treatment of antibiotic-associated gastrointestinal adverse signs (AAGS) using a network pharmacology approach combined with molecular docking. Active compounds were screened from the TCMSP database based on the criteria of oral bioavailability (OB) ≥30% and drug-likeness (DL) ≥0.18. Disease-related targets were retrieved from the GeneCards database. Subsequently, intersection targets were identified, followed by the construction of a protein–protein interaction (PPI) network and GO/KEGG enrichment analyses, as well as molecular docking. The results identified 115 active compounds and 61 shared target genes. The PPI network analysis revealed that PTGS2, TNF, IL6, IL1B, and AKT1 were key targets. GO and KEGG enrichment analyses indicated that the mechanisms were mainly associated with inflammation, immune response, and apoptosis. Molecular docking results demonstrated that quercetin and cavidine exhibited strong binding affinities with key targets. In conclusion, Banxia Xiexin Tang may exert therapeutic effects through multi-component, multi-target, and multi-pathway mechanisms, which is consistent with the theoretical principles of traditional Chinese medicine and provides a basis for further experimental studies.
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