Network pharmacology-based prediction of efficacy and mechanism of Myrrha acting on Allergic Rhinitis

Abstract

Objectives: Network pharmacology is an analysis method that explores drug-centered efficacy and mechanism by constructing a compound-target-disease network based on system biology, and is attracting attention as a methodology for studying herbal medicine that has the characteristics for multi-compound therapeutics. Thus, we investigated the potential functions and pathways of Myrrha on Allergic Rhinitis (AR) via network pharmacology analysis and molecular docking.Methods: Using public databases and PubChem database, compounds of Myrrha and their target genes were collected. The putative target genes of Myrrha and known target genes of AR were compared and found the correlation. Then, the network was constructed using STRING database, and functional enrichment analysis was conducted based on the Gene Ontology (GO) Biological process and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) Pathways. Binding-Docking stimulation was performed using CB-Dock.Results: The result showed that total 3 compounds and 55 related genes were gathered from Myrrha. 33 genes were interacted with AR gene set, suggesting that the effects of Myrrha are closely related to AR. Target genes of Myrrha are considerably associated with various pathways including ‘Fc epsilon RI signaling pathway’ and ‘JAK-STAT signaling pathway’. As a result of blinding docking, AKT1, which is involved in both mechanisms, had high binding energies for abietic acid and dehydroabietic acid, which are components of Myrrha.Conclusion: Through a network pharmacological method, Myrrha was predicted to have high relevance with AR by regulating AKT1. This study could be used as a basis for studying therapeutic effects of Myrrha on AR.