The mechanism of Callistephus chinensis flavonoid compounds in the treatment of diabetes using network pharmacology and molecular docking

Abstract

The purpose of this project is used for exploring the mechanism of Callistephus chinensis in the treatment of diabetes by network pharmacology and molecular docking methods. The target of Callistephus chinensis was obtained from SwissTargetPrediction database, while the target related to diabetes was obtained from GeneCards and OMIM databases. The target was added in String database to build the protein interaction network. GO biological process enrichment analysis and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis were carried out by Metascape software, then the target-pathway network was constructed. Molecular docking was carried out in Discovery Studio 2016 Client software to verify the binding force of Callistephus chinensis flavonoid compounds with key targets. In this study, 10 potential active components were selected from the flavonoid monomer compounds of Callistephus chinensis. 1 847 biological processes (BP), 126 cell compositions (CC) and 256 molecular functions (MF) were obtained by GO enrichment analysis; a total of 194 pathways were involved in KEGG enrichment analysis of 192 cross targets. Network analysis showed that quercetin was the main active component of flavonoids in the treatment of diabetes, AKT1, TNF, VEGFA, EGFR, SRC and other related signals were in relation to the treatment of diabetes. This study showed that Callistephus chinensis flavonoid compounds play a role in the treatment of diabetes by regulating multi-target and multi-pathway.

Keywords

Callistephus chinensis / flavonoid compounds / diabetes / network pharmacology / molecular docking

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