Objective： To investigate the potential targets and signaling pathways of
Astragalus-Curcuma zedoary in ameliorating central nervous system inflammation based on
network pharmacology and molecular docking. Methods: The main active ingredients and targets
of the “Astragalus-Curcuma zedoary in” pair were searched in TCMSP database and BATMANTCM
database, and the targets of CNS inflammation were screened in GeneCards database, and
the network diagram of “drug-ingredient-target” was established by Cytoscape 3.7.1. Cytoscape
3.7.1 was used to establish the network diagram of “drug-component-target”, and venny 2.1.0
was used to do the Wayne diagram intersection plot to obtain the intersection genes of Astragaluscurcuma
zedoary in CNS inflammation. We used String database to obtain the protein interactions
map, and analyzed the GO function enrichment and KEGG pathway enrichment of the targets by DAIVID, an online analysis platform, to screen out the functions of the target proteins and their
related mechanism pathways. Results: Astragalus-curcuma zedoary contains 129 important active
ingredients including quercetin, kaempferol, curcumol, and soybean sapogenins, which act on 543
potential targets for drug therapy of diseases including AKT1, STAT3, IL-6, IL-1β, TNF, BCL-
2, IFNG, and JUN. GO and KEGG enrichment analyses revealed that these targets were widely
enriched in HIF-1, TNF, and IL-1β, and HIF-1, TNF and IL-1β. The GO and KEGG enrichment
analyses revealed that these targets were widely enriched in a series of signaling pathways,
including HIF-1, TNF, and IL-17, and the core active ingredients were also tightly bound to the
core targets. Conclusion: Astragalus-curcuma zedoary may regulate the HIF-1, TNF, and IL-17
pathways through the core targets of AKT1, STAT3, IL-6, IL-1β, TNF, BCL-2, IFNG, and JUN,
which may play an ameliorative role in CNS inflammation, and thus provide scientific basis and
reference for the treatment of CNS inflammation by traditional Chinese medicine.
