Analyzing the mechanism by which the Dachengqi decoction resolves postoperative intestinal obstruction after colorectal cancer surgery

Abstract Background: Intestinal obstruction is a prevalent complication in patients with colorectal cancer following surgery, with a significant impact on health outcomes. Dachengqi decoction (DCQD) is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) that is employed in clinical settings for the treatment of intestinal obstruction. However, the pharmacological mechanisms and active components of this medicinal preparation remain to be fully elucidated. The objective of this study was to examine the possible mechanisms and active constituents of DCQD in addressing intestinal obstruction subsequent to colorectal cancer surgery. Methods: A comprehensive search was conducted on the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform and the Traditional Chinese Medicine Integrated Database for the active chemical constituents of DCQD. In addition, the PubChem, Swiss Target Prediction and Uniprot databases were utilised to predict the drug targets. The possible target genes associated with intestinal obstruction were obtained from the GeneCards, Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man, PharmGKB, and Therapeutic Target Database databases, and were analysed using the Database for Annotation, Visualisation and Integrated Discovery platform for Gene Ontology (GO) functional enrichment analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis. Cytoscape was utilised to visualise key components, targets, and pathways, and molecular docking technology was employed to verify the binding of core targets and key components. Results: A total of 41 active chemical components and 141 intersecting targets were screened, and it was determined that the intersecting targets of TCM and disease were significantly enriched in 44 GO entries and 93 KEGG pathways. Subsequent screening identified 3 key components (isosinensetin, tetramethoxyluteolin, and 5,7,4’-trimethylapigenin) and 9 core targets ( TP53, STAT3, ESR1, SRC, EGFR, AKT1, CTNNB1, BCL2 , and PIK3CA ). The molecular docking results demonstrated that all 3 key components exhibited strong binding to the core targets. Conclusions: The present study identified the pharmacological basis by which DCQD exerts beneficial effects against intestinal obstruction and provided insights into its mechanism of action, providing scientific evidence for precise clinical utilisation and areas for new drug development.