Mechanism of Asiatic acid against oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma: integration of network pharmacology and experimental validation

This study combined network pharmacology, bioinformatics, and experimental validation to explore the mechanisms of Asiatic acid against oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Common targets were identified, hub genes were screened using Cytoscape, and core targets were determined by integrating GEO survival data. KEGG analysis indicated significant enrichment in the PI3K/AKT pathway. PTGS2 was the only core target significantly associated with ESCC prognosis (p = 0.0208). Molecular docking demonstrated strong binding between Asiatic acid and PTGS2 (-7.10 kcal/mol). In vitro, Asiatic acid inhibited proliferation of KYSE-150 and Eca-109 cells (24 h IC₅₀: 57.16 and 79.77 μM) and increased apoptosis rates. In vivo, it suppressed tumour growth and promoted apoptosis in xenograft models. These findings suggest that Asiatic acid exerts anti-ESCC effects by targeting PTGS2 and modulating the PI3K/AKT pathway.