Hypoglycemic effect and Experimental Validation of Scutellariae Radix based on network pharmacology and molecular docking

Objective: The relationships of ‘ingredient-target-pathway’ and hypoglycemic effect of Scutellariae Radix (SD) in the treatment of diabetes were explored using network pharmacology, molecular docking and animal experiments. Methods: SD and its targets were identified using network analysis followed by experimental validation. First, the Tcmsp and Drugbank databases were mined for the targets of SD and diabetes, and the intersection target genes were screened. The key targets and enriched pathways were examined by Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis, and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis. SD main active components, target genes and KEGG networks were created by Cytoscape software. The correspondence between SD components and targets was verified by molecular docking. Finally, animal experiments were carried out to confirm the hypoglycemic effect of SD. Results: The 22 intersection targets were confirmed for the hypoglycemic effect of SD. GO analysis showed that 18 biological processes, 9 cellular components and 15 molecular functions were identified (P ≤ 0.01). Eighteen related signaling pathways were identified by KEGG analysis (P ≤ 0.05). Molecular docking results indicated that the targets of diabetes bound strongly to the main components of SD. Animal experiments showed that SD could decrease the blood sugar of diabetic rats to normal level. Conclusion: The present study explored the potential targets and signaling pathways of SD on diabetes. The results may help to illustrate the hypoglycemic mechanism (s) of SD.