Exploring the mechanism of Zhengxintai Formula for the treatment of coronary heart disease based on network pharmacology

Zhengxintai Formula (ZXT) has shown good effects in the clinical treatment of coronary atherosclerotic heart disease (CHD). However, its potential molecular mechanism for treating coronary heart disease is still unknown. The Traditional Chinese Medicine Systematic Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform and literature reviews were used to determine the active components and targets of the 6 herbs used in ZXT. Next, we searched disease target databases for targets associated with CHD. Secondly, Cytoscape was used to map the "active compounds-target" network, "protein-protein interaction" network, and "compound-target-disease" network. After that, gene ontology analysis and the pathway analysis by the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes were performed on the targets. Finally, molecular docking between the compounds and the targets was performed to verify their binding ability. The analysis obtained 116 active compounds of ZXT, corresponding to 611 targets. Thousand three hundred forty-five coronary heart disease targets were collected. Obtained 177 potential ZXT targets for coronary artery disease. Gene ontology analysis yielded 734 biological process entries, 84 cellular component entries, and 122 molecular function entries. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis revealed the key pathways such as "Fluid shear stress and atherosclerosis," "Lipid and atherosclerosis", and "PI3K-Akt signaling pathway." The molecular docking results showed good binding between each screened core target and the core components. ZXT fulfills its role in the treatment of CHD through the core components and core targets that have been screened out, but the exact process still needs to be further investigated.