Network Pharmacology Analysis on Zhichan Powder in the Treatment of Parkinson's Disease

AIMS AND OBJECTIVE: Effective components and the mechanism of action of Zhichan powder for the treatment of Parkinson's disease were researched at a systematic level. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Screening of active components in Zhichan powder for the treatment of Parkinson's disease was conducted using the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology database, and a medicine-target-disease network was established with computational network pharmacology. RESULTS: By using network pharmacology methods, we identified 18 major active components in Zhichan powder through screening, indicating a connection between chemical components of this Traditional Chinese Medicine and Parkinson's disease-related targets. CONCLUSION: The medicine-target-disease system of Zhichan powder established by network pharmacology permitted visualization of clustering and differences among chemical components in this prescription, as well as the complex mechanism of molecular activities among those effective components, relevant targets, pathways, and the disease. Thus, our results provide a new perspective and method for revealing the mechanism of action of Traditional Chinese Medicine prescriptions.