Alzheimer's disease is the most common neurodegenerative disease. Acanthopanax senticosus, also known as Ciwujia or Siberian ginseng in Chinese, has a wide range of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. The study aims to explore the action mechanism of A. senticosus against Alzheimer's disease using network pharmacology and molecular docking. The active ingredients and targets of A. senticosus were searched through the ETCM database, and Alzheimer's disease-related targets were obtained through the OMIM and GeneCards databases. The Cytoscape 3.7.2 software was used to construct a “drug-component-target” relationship network, and the target genes of A. senticosus against Alzheimer's disease were imported into the String database to establish a protein interaction (PPI) network. The Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes gene enrichment analyses were performed through the Metascape database to obtain potential pathways of action of A. senticosus for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, and the ability of these active ingredients to bind to core targets was then verified by molecular docking. 51 active ingredients were screened from A. senticosus, and 88 effective targets for Alzheimer's disease were screened. Topological and pathway-enrichment analyses revealed that A. senticosus could play a beneficial role in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease by regulating apoptosis and inflammation. Molecular docking results showed that Ciwujianoside B, Chiisanoside, and Ciwujianoside D1 had strong binding abilities to key target proteins (TNFα, IL1β, and CASP3). Collectively, A. senticosus is feasible in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

Graphical abstract

中文翻译：

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基于网络药理学和分子对接研究刺五加治疗阿尔茨海默病的分子机制

阿尔茨海默病是最常见的神经退行性疾病。刺五加，中文也称为刺五加或西伯利亚人参，具有广泛的抗氧化和抗炎活性。该研究旨在利用网络药理学和分子对接探讨刺五加抗阿尔茨海默病的作用机制。通过ETCM数据库检索刺五加活性成分和靶点，通过OMIM和GeneCards数据库获得阿尔茨海默病相关靶点。利用Cytoscape 3.7.2软件构建“药物-成分-靶标”关系网络，将刺五加抗阿尔茨海默病的靶基因导入String数据库，建立蛋白质相互作用（PPI）网络。通过Metascape数据库进行Gene Ontology和京都基因与基因组百科全书基因富集分析，获得刺五加治疗阿尔茨海默病的潜在作用途径，并分析这些活性成分与核心靶点结合的能力。通过分子对接验证。从刺五加中筛选出51个活性成分，筛选出88个治疗阿尔茨海默病的有效靶点。拓扑和通路富集分析表明，刺五加可以通过调节细胞凋亡和炎症在阿尔茨海默氏病的治疗中发挥有益作用。分子对接结果显示，刺五加苷B、刺五加苷、刺五加苷D1与关键靶蛋白（TNFα、IL1β、CASP3）具有较强的结合能力。总的来说，刺五加在治疗阿尔茨海默病方面是可行的。

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