Deciphering the mechanism of usnic acid in type 2 diabetes treatment: A network pharmacology and molecular docking approach

Diabetes type 2 (T2D) is a prevalent metabolic condition that has a significant impact on the health of people all over the world and has been a growing interest in using phytochemicals as therapeutic agents. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of lichen-derived usnic acid (UA) in treating T2D by examining its interactions with biological networks using network pharmacology and molecular docking simulation. A network pharmacology investigation was carried out using STRING, Cytoscape 3.10.2, David software, and the interaction network of targets associated with T2D was generated. We used GO and KEGG analysis to identify the precise biological mechanisms, cellular compartments, and molecular roles associated with T2D. Furthermore, a quick and initial molecular docking study was conducted to look at the ways that UA interacts with the target proteins. Four hub genes—CCND1, PIK3CA, NFKB1, and PIK3CG—were suggested to be implicated in the hsa04151: PI3K-Akt signalling pathway of T2D from the network pharmacology analysis and may be potential therapeutic targets. Additionally, docking experiments revealed that UA had the greatest binding score for PIK3CA (-8.22 kcal/mol). According to this study, UA may prevent T2D, and these findings offer a chance for in-vitro and in-vivo research to validate UA as a multi-target compound in patients with T2D.