Objective  To explore the mechanism of effective ingredients in Wendan Decoction for the treatment of schizophrenia based on network pharmacology and molecular docking technology.

Methods  The active ingredients and related targets of Wendan Decoction  were obtained through Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform (TCMSP), Traditional Chinese Medicine Integrated Database (TCMID), UniProt database, PubChem and SwissTargetPrediction database. The multiple screenings of target genes for schizophrenia were conducted through the GeneCard human gene database, OMIM database and TTD database, and the final disease targets were obtained through deduplication. The common targets of drug-disease were obtained by using Venny 2.1.0 software. The free targets were excluded by inputting into the STRING database, and the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed by Cytoscape 3.9.1 software. The core targets were screened based on the degree values. Gene Ontology (GO) function and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis were performed on core targets using DAVID database. Finally, the top 6 core targets with the highest degree values were selected as docking proteins and the top 5 active compounds of Wendan Decoction for molecular docking to verify the credibility of the network pharmacological results.

Results  A total of 134 active ingredients of Wendan Decoction and 213 common targets of drug-disease were obtained. GO analysis obtained 1 114 entries, including 852 biological processes, 108 cellular components and 181 molecular functions. KEGG analysis yielded 196 signaling pathways. The molecular docking results showed that the molecular docking between the core targets and active ingredients had a strong affinity.

Conclusion  Wendan Decoction contains active ingredients such as quercetin, naringenin and nobiletin. It may play a role in the treatment of schizophrenia by regulating the targets such as TP53, AKT1 and STAT3, as well as key signaling pathways such as IL-17, PI3K-Akt and HIF-1, providing a reference basis for the research and application of Wendan Decoction in the treatment of schizophrenia.

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