The Mechanism of Ginkgo biloba Against Tongue Cancer Based on Network Pharmacology and Cellular Experiments

YAN Song; SONG Changwei

doi:10.3969/j.issn.2096-305X.2026.01.003

Abstract：Objective To explore the mechanism of Ginkgo biloba against tongue cancer based on network pharmacology and cellular experiments.Methods The active components and their targets of Ginkgo biloba were retrieved from databases such as TCMSP,Swiss Target Prediction,PubChem,and GeneCards.Tongue cancer-related genes were obtained from GeneCards,and a PPI network was constructed.GO and KEGG enrichment analyses were performed,and molecular docking was used for validation.In vitro,the viability of tongue cancer cells(Tca-8113)was detected by CCK-8 assay,and apoptosis-related proteins were detected by Western Blot.Results A total of 234 targets of Ginkgo biloba,924 tongue cancer genes,and 81 common targets between the disease and the drug were identified.The core targets included BCL2,PTGS2,MMP9,AKT1,etc.The biological process(BP)enrichment results showed that the targets were related to the Ephrin receptor signaling pathway,one-carbon metabolism,and epidermal growth factor receptor signaling pathway.The cellular component(CC)enrichment results indicated strong associations with receptor complexes,membrane rafts,and plasma membranes.The molecular function(MF)enrichment results revealed associations with carbonic anhydrase activity,histone H3Y41 kinase activity,histone H2AXY142 kinase activity,and transmembrane receptor protein tyrosine kinase activity.The KEGG pathway enrichment results showed that the targets of Ginkgo biloba against tongue cancer were mainly involved in nitrogen metabolism,the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway,proteoglycans,endocrine resistance,and epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors.The in vitro experimental results showed that the viability of tongue cancer cells decreased with increasing concentrations of Ginkgo biloba extract,and the extract inhibited the expression of Bcl-2 protein and the activation of the p-AKT/AKT signaling pathway.Conclusion Network pharmacology has revealed that Ginkgo biloba exerts its anti-tongue cancer effects through multiple targets and pathways.Cellular experiments have demonstrated that Ginkgo biloba may inhibit the proliferation of tongue cancer cells by downregulating the expression of anti-apoptotic factor Bcl-2 and inhibiting the activation of the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway.