Network Pharmacology of Thalictrum simplex var. brevipes: Linking Chemical Constituents to Hepatitis Treatment Targets

Thalictrum simplex var. brevipes has been used for the treatment of hepatitis. However, its chemical constituents and their corresponding bioactivities remain uncertain. This study aims to identify chemical constituents of T. simplex var. brevipes and to develop a network pharmacology model to enhance the understanding of T. simplex var. brevipes in the treatment of hepatitis. SwissTargetPrediction was employed to identify potential therapeutic targets of the identified compounds. Hepatitis-associated genes were sourced from the GeneCards database, and Venn analysis was conducted to reveal overlaps between these hepatitis genes and the predicted targets. Common targets were then subjected to protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis using STRING. Key genes were further validated through KEGG pathway analysis. Finally, a compound-targetpathway network was constructed using Cytoscape (version 3.7.2), integrating hepatitis-linked genes with the common targets. The 13 identified compounds shared 423 unique common targets with hepatitis, with each compound having over 70 associated targets. The protein-protein interaction (PPI) network highlighted key hepatitis-related targets, specifically HSP90AA1, SRC, and EGFR. KEGG analysis revealed that 213 pathways were linked to these common targets, including significant pathways related to hepatitis B and C. This study indicated that the potential therapeutic effects of T. simplex var. brevipes may derive from its diverse compounds, which can influence targets and pathways related to hepatitis treatment.