Eucommiae Cortex In Periodontitis Treatment: Network Pharmacology And Molecular Docking

This study aims to explore the main active components and potential targets of action of Eucommiae Cortex and to analyse the molecular mechanisms in the prevention and treatment of periodontitis. Obtain Eucommiae Cortex's active ingredients from TCMSP, TCMIP, and TCM-ID databases, and screen the targets using PharmMapper and Swiss Target Prediction. Retrieve periodontitis-related targets from OMIM, Genecard, and NCBI Gene databases. Obtain the cross-targets of Eucommiae Cortex and periodontitis and import them into the STRING database. Construct an cross-targets core network and a "drug-active ingredient target" network using Cytoscape. Utilize the Matescape database for Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis, and use Bioinformatics software for visual analysis. Use AutoDock software to perform molecular docking between TOP3 active ingredients and TOP5 core targets. 34 active ingredients and 423 targets were obtained in "Eucommiae Cortex", while 2125 targets were obtained in "periodontitis", with 98 crosstargets between them, of which 18 were core targets. GO and KEGG enrichment analyses showed that targets of Eucommiae Cortex's action on periodontitis were mainly related to signal transduction, apoptosis and gene expression, proteolysis and inflammatory response, and intervened in periodontitis by regulating cancer, lipid and atherosclerosis, cancer proteoglycan and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway. Molecular docking results showed that (+)-medioresinol, Dehydrodieugenol and Eucommin A could stably bind to the core target of TOP5. This study reveals Eucommia Cortex's multi-target mechanism against periodontitis via network pharmacology, aiding drug development for prevention and treatment.