A network pharmacology approach to establish the pharmacological mechanism of JiaWeiXianJiTang on inflammatory bowel disease

The aim of the present study was to characterize the molecular mechanism of the effective components of JiaWeiXianJiTang (JWXJT), a traditional Chinese medicine, on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) using network pharmacology technology. Data regarding natural molecules of JWXJT, targets of IBD, and interactions between natural molecules and IBD targets were screened. Network pharmacology of the interactions between natural molecules and IBD targets were drawn using Cytoscape v3.2.1. As a result of screening, 205 interactions were identified between 673 natural molecules and 76 targets of IBD. By analyzing the effective components, the complex effect mechanism of JWXJT on IBD was identified to be via enhancement of the immune system, inhibiting novel blood vessel growth through 15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase, 5' AMP-activated protein kinase, interleukin-2 and macrophage colony-stimulating factor-1, and resulting in inflammation inhibition. In addition, JWXJT ameliorated IBD by antagonizing various molecular targets of IBD through its effective components, inhibiting inflammatory reactions, improving patient quality of life, as well as reducing the incidence of cancer.