China Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine ›› 2023, Vol. 50 ›› Issue (10): 4279-4291.doi: 10.16431/j.cnki.1671-7236.2023.10.042

• Basic Veterinary Medicine • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Study on Mechanism of Codonopsis pilosula-Glycyrrhiza Extract in Enhancing Immune Functions of Weaned Piglets Based on Pharmacology

CAI Yanzi, YUAN Ziwen, ZHANG Xingping, ZHANG Fengyu, ZHU Yamei, SHI Yan, JIANG Lidong, HUA Yongli, WEI Yanming   

  1. College of Veterinary Medicine, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
  • Received:2023-03-30 Online:2023-10-05 Published:2023-09-26

Abstract: 【Objective】 Based on network pharmacology combined with molecular docking technology,the effects of Codonopsis pilosula-Glycyrrhiza extract on immune function of weaned piglets and its mechanism were investigated.【Method】 Weaned piglets at 28 days of age were randomly divided into control group and Codonopsis pilosula-Glycyrrhiza low,medium and high dose groups, and 12 piglets each group.Piglets in the control group were fed a basal diet,while piglets in the low,medium and high dose groups were fed the basal diet supplemented with 0.5%,1% and 1.5% Codonopsis pilosula-Glycyrrhiza extract for 28 consecutive days,respectively.The average daily gain and feed to gain ratio of weaned piglets in each group were analyzed.The contents of IgA,IgM and IgG in serum were detected.The potential active components and target were screened through TCMSP and SwissTargetPrediction database,and immunosuppressive related targets were searched through OMIM and GeneCards database to obtain the potential target for enhancing the immune effect of Codonopsis pilosula-Glycyrrhiza.The protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed with STRING database,and the GO function and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis were performed with Metascape database.AutoDock 1.5.6 and PyMOL software were used for molecular docking verification and visualization of some key targets,and the results were verified.【Result】 Compared with the control group,the average daily gain, IgA,IgM and IgG contents of serum of weaned piglets in Codonopsis pilosula-Glycyrrhiza extract medium dose group were significantly increased,and the feed to gain ratio was significantly decreased (P < 0.05).Network pharmacological analysis showed that the main active components of Codonopsis pilosula-Glycyrrhiza might be quercetin,kaempferol,luteolin and taraxerol,and there were 95 key targets for their intersection with immunosuppressive diseases.The highest correlation in the immune PPI network was serine/threonine protein kinase 1(AKT1),vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA),interleukin 6 (IL6) and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α).GO functional enrichment analysis showed that the key targets were enriched to 1 778 items,mainly related to the positive regulation of calcitriol 1-monooxygenase activity,the transcription of RNA polymerase Ⅱ promoter is positively regulated during hypoxia,serine protease inhibitor complex,Bcl-2 family protein complex,peptidase inhibitor complex,etc.KEGG pathway enrichment analysis showed that the immune regulation of Codonopsis pilosula-Glycyrrhiza was mainly enriched in PI3K-Akt,TNF,MAPK signaling pathways.Molecular docking results showed that quercetin,kaempferol,luteolin and taraxerol had good binding activity with key targets IL6,VEGFA and TNF-α.【Conclusion】 Codonopsis pilosula-Glycyrrhiza extract could improve the growth performance and immunity of weaned piglets,which was closely related to the intervention of PI3K-Akt,MAPK and NF-κB signaling pathways.

Key words: Codonopsis pilosula-Glycyrrhiza; weaned piglets; network pharmacological; immunomodulation

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