Mechanism of Astragalus membranaceus in regulating immune function in chickens based on network pharmacology and molecular docking

DU Ying; WANG Ziqi; DUAN Hengxuan; WANG Baoxiang; WEI Chunbo

doi:10.13557/j.cnki.issn1002-2813.2025.08.015

Abstract：The study aimed to explore the mechanism of action of Astragalus membranaceus on regulating the immune function of chickens.The effective components and targets of Astragalus membranaceus were predicted by means of multiple databases such as the Traditional Chinese Medicine System Pharmacology Analysis Platform.The potential targets of chicken immune function were explored through the GeneCards and NCBI databases,and the key targets of Astragalus membranaceus regulating chicken immune function were determined.The Cytoscape 3.7.1 was used to visualize and analyze the Astragalus membranaceus-immune-target protein interaction network,and the GO function and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis of the key targets were carried out.The top four key targets with the highest degree values were subjected to molecular docking in the AutoDock software.The results showed that it was determined that there were 17 main active components in Astragalus membranaceus that regulate the immune function of chickens,corresponding to 671 potential targets,with 22 common targets,among which there were nine core targets with a degree value of not less than 10.GO function analysis identified related pathways included 118 biological processes,15 cellular components,and 23 molecular functions,while KEGG pathway analysis identified 46 related pathways.The molecular docking binding energies of the corresponding Astragalus membranaceus components with the core targets were all less than 0 kJ/mol,indicating that Astragalus membranaceus can spontaneously bind with the core targets.The study indicates that Astragalus membranaceus has the function of regulating immune function by multiple components,multiple targets and multiple pathways.