Mechanism of acute liver injury alleviation by Zhuyeqing liquor based on UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS technology and network pharmacology

In this study, the potential functional components in Zhuyeqing liquor were screened and detected by Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database (TCMSP) database and ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time of flight-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS) technique, the components and disease targets were predicted by network pharmacology, the gene ontology (GO) function annotation and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis were performed on common targets through DAVID database, and a network of "functional components-potential targets-pathways" was constructed to screen the key functional ingredients and action pathways. Finally, through molecular docking technology, molecular docking studies were carried out on the core potential targets and key functional components to verify the predicted results of network analysis. The results showed that a total of 113 potential active ingredients were obtained from Zhuyeqing liquor. The key functional ingredients of Zhuyeqing liquor might be naringenin, genipin, acacetin, kaempferol, tangerine and tricin, acting on RAC-alpha serine/threonine kinase 1 (AKT1), Jun Proto-Oncogene (JUN), signal transduction, activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) and other targets of phosphoinositide 3-kinase/protein kinase B (PI3K-AKT), Toll-like receptors (TLRs) and other signaling pathways, to play a role in alleviating acute liver injury.