Exploring the mechanisms of Ginkgo biloba extract in treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder based on network pharmacology and molecular docking

Ginkgo biloba extract (GBE) has been found to be effective in treating neurological diseases. However, whether GBE can be used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and its potential molecular targets remain unclear. The active components of GBE were screened by the TCMSP database, and the related targets of ADHD were searched by the GENE CARD database. The common target between GBE and ADHD was obtained by Venny platform. The common targets were imported into the STRING database, and the protein interaction network and core target network were constructed by Cytoscape 3.8.0. DAVID database was used to perform GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis, and Cytoscape 3.8.0 software was used to construct and analyze the “active ingredient-target-disease” network model. Finally, Autodock tools 1.5.6 and Pymol 2.6.0a0 software were used to analyze the molecular docking results of important components and core targets, and IMDS was used for molecular dynamics simulation. A total of 27 active ingredients and 215 targets were screened from GBE, 85 of which were common to ADHD, including 3 core targets (TP53, TNF and IL6). The main related pathways of GBE in the treatment of ADHD were IL-17 signaling pathway, C-type lectin receptor signaling pathway and Toll-like signaling pathway. The results of molecular docking showed that 3 core targets (TP53, TNF and IL6) had a small molecular docking binding free energy with the active components (luteolin and kaempferol), indicating a good affinity. GBE may alleviate the progression of ADHD via mediating IL-17 signaling pathway, C-type lectin receptor signaling pathway and Toll-like signaling pathway by regulating TP53, TNF and IL6, which provides a new theoretical basis for the treatment of ADHD.