Anti-inflammatory activity of Maodongqing granules: A network pharmacology study

Background Maodongqing granules (MDQ), a traditional Chinese medicine formulation, have been widely used for inflammatory diseases. However, their active compounds and anti-inflammatory mechanisms remain unclear. This study aimed to identify potential anti-inflammatory targets and pathways of MDQ using network pharmacology and experimental validation. Methods Network pharmacology analysis was performed to predict active compounds, potential targets, protein–protein interaction networks, and related pathways through Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses. The predicted effects were further validated in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages by assessing inflammatory mediators and signaling proteins. Results Network pharmacology identified 196 inflammation-related targets of MDQ, which were mainly enriched in inflammation-associated signaling pathways, including the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway. In vitro experiments using LPS-induced RAW 264.7 macrophages demonstrated that MDQ significantly inhibited nitric oxide (NO) production and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) secretion. Furthermore, MDQ treatment reduced p38 MAPK protein expression and exhibited stronger anti-inflammatory activity than individual representative compounds. Conclusion MDQ exhibits anti-inflammatory activity in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages, as evidenced by the inhibition of NO production and TNF-α secretion. The anti-inflammatory effects of MDQ may be associated with regulation of the p38 MAPK signaling pathway. These findings provide experimental evidence supporting the potential mechanism of MDQ in inflammatory regulation.