Network pharmacology-based approach reveals that Fructus mume exerts therapeutic effects against ulcerative colitis via the AGE/RAGE signaling pathway

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Fructus mume herbs have been used to convergence and antidiarrheal in clinical practice in China for thousands of years. Aim of the study: This study aimed to investigate the molecular mechanism of Fructus mume in the treatment of UC through network pharmacology analysis and experimental validation in vivo. Materials and methods: The main components of Fructus mume were initially identified with the aid of liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Using the network pharmacology approach, we predicted the targets of the active components and mapped target genes related to UC. We further evaluated the pharmacodynamic effects of Fructus mume on UC in vivo using a DSS-induced mousemodel of colitis. The degree of pathological damage in mousecolon tissue was examined via hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining. The results of network pharmacology predictions were further verified measuring the levels of inflammatory and oxidation-related factors in mouse colon tissue via enzyme linked immunosorbent assay method and Western blot analysis. Results: A total of 16 chemical components of Fructus mume were identified, among which 11 active components were screened based on the Ribinski rule and 368 targets predicted. KEGG pathway analysis showed that the predicted targets involved multiple signaling pathways, including PI3K-Akt, AGE-RAGE and HIF-1. In pharmacodynamic experiments, Fructus mume induced a significant increase in colon length and improved the degree of damage to colon tissue. In addition, FM inhibited the increase in TNF-alpha, IL-1 beta, NADPH and ROS levels in sera of UC mice, thereby suppressing the occurrence and development of UC. At higher concentrations, Fructus mume inhibited protein expression of downstream related (p38, p-p38, NF-kB and p-NF-kB) through regulation of the AGE/RAGE pathway, further contributing to suppression of UC in mice. Conclusion: Our experiments provide important insights into the pharmacological basis of Fructus mume and its potential multicomponent-multitarget-multipathway pharmacological activities against UC. The therapeutic mechanism of Fructus mume may be associated with suppression of protein expression, p38, p-p38, NF-kB and pNF-kB, in the AGE/RAGE pathway, partially validating the results from network pharmacology analysis. The collective findings provide a theoretical basis for the further development and clinical application of Fructus mume.