Elucidating the Mechanism of Action of Salvia miltiorrhiza for the Treatment of Acute Pancreatitis Based on Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking Technology.

Using network pharmacology and molecular docking, this study investigated the molecular mechanisms by which the active components in can alleviate acute pancreatitis. Initially, the active components of and the targets collected from the GeneCards database were screened based on the platform of systematic pharmacology analysis of traditional Chinese medicine. Subsequently, the active components were intersected with the disease targets. Also, interactions among the targets were computed using the STRING database. Biological function and pathway enrichment were analyzed using the Cluster Profiler package in the R software. Protein-protein interaction and component target pathway network were constructed using the Cytoscape software. Ultimately, the key targets and their corresponding components in the network were verified using the AutoDock Vina software. The results showed had 111 targets for acute pancreatitis. The biological process (BP) analysis showed that the active components of induced a drug response, positive regulation of transcription by RNA polymerase II promoter, signal transduction, positive regulation of cell proliferation, and negative regulation of apoptosis. Furthermore, the KEGG enrichment analysis screened 118 ( < 0.05) signaling pathways, such as the pathways related to cancer, neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, and cAMP signaling pathway, to name a few. Finally, molecular docking showed that the active components of had a good binding affinity with their corresponding target proteins. Through network pharmacology, this study predicted the potential pharmacodynamic material basis and the mechanisms by which can treat acute pancreatitis. Moreover, this study provided a scientific basis for mining the pharmacodynamic components of and expanding the scope of its clinical use.