Mechanism of rutin alleviating SARA in ruminants predicted by network pharmacology

XU Xiaohui; BAI Pengxiang; ZHAO Meng; LI Xiaoqi; HU Honglian; LIU Dacheng

doi:10.13557/j.cnki.issn1002-2813.2025.03.020

Abstract：This study was based on network pharmacology and molecular docking approach to investigate the potential mechanism of action of rutin in alleviating subacute ruminal acidosis(SARA)in ruminants.Rutin and SARA were screened for their targets of action by databases such as Traditional Chinese Medicine Systematic Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform(TCMSP).The overlapping targets of rutin and SARA were identified using the microbiology platform,and the protein-protein interaction(PPI)network diagrams of the overlapping targets were drawn,and the overlapping targets of rutin and SARA were analysed by the DAVID database in terms of GO function and KEGG enrichment.Molecular docking of rutin and core targets was performed by Autodock 1.5.7.The results showed that rutin had 359 target genes and SARA had 145 target genes,and there were 16 overlapping target genes between the two.PPI network analysis screened six core targets,which were cysteine asparaginase 3(CASP3),interleukin-1β(IL-1β),interleukin-6(IL-6),tumour necrosis factor(TNF),prostaglandin G/H synthase(PTGS2),and insulin(INS).GO functional enrichment analysis yielded 63 entries of cellular omponents,4 entries of biological processes,and 9 entries of molecular functions.KEGG pathway enrichment analysis yielded 16 pathways,including interleukin-17(IL-17),nuclear factor-κB(NF-κB),TNF,mitogen-activated protein kinase(MAPK),and Toll-like receptor signalling pathway.The molecular docking results showed that rutin had high affinity for all 6 core targets.The study indicates that the rutin can affect and regulate inflammatory pathways such as IL-17,NF-κB,TNF,MAPK,Toll-like receptor,and other inflammatory pathways by acting on CASP3,IL-1β,IL-6,TNF,PTGS2,and INS target genes to alleviate the effect of SARA.