基于网络药理学和体内实验探讨萝芙木对溃疡性结肠炎的治疗作用及分子机制OA

Objective:To determine the role of Rauvolfia verticillata in treating ulcerative colitis and the underlying mecha-nism.Methods:The active components of Rauvolfia verticillata were screened using the HERB database and relevant literature,and its potential targets were identified.The ulcerative colitis-related targets were obtained from the GeneCards database.Subse-quently,a component-target network was constructed,and the Gene Ontology(GO)and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Ge-nomes(KEGG)pathways were analyzed to investigate the potential mechanism of Rauvolfia verticillata in treating ulcerative coli-tis.Additionally,mice with dextran sulfate sodium(DSS)-induced ulcerative colitis were utilized to evaluate the therapeutic ef-fects and mechanism of Rauvolfia verticillata treating ulcerative colitis.Results:A total of 26 potential targets of Rauvolfia verti-cillata in ulcerative colitis were identified.The component-target network analysis suggested that pectin may serve as a key compo-nent in ulcerative colitis treatment.The functional enrichment analysis indicated a strong association between the therapeutic ef-fects of Rauvolfia verticillata on ulcerative colitis and the Janus kinase(JAK)-signal transducer and activator of transcription(STAT)signaling pathway.In vivo experimental results demonstrated the effectiveness of Rauvolfia verticillata pectin in amelio-rating clinical symptoms(e.g.disease activity index,colonic length,and pathological changes)and the reduction of tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α),interleukin-1β(IL-1β),and interleukin-6(IL-6)expressions in mice with DSS-induced ulcerative colitis(P<0.05).Moreover,Rauvolfia verticillata pectin could downregulate JAK2 and STAT3 expressions within the JAK-STAT signal-ing pathway(P<0.05).Conclusions:Rauvolfia verticillata,particularly its pectin,might exert a therapeutic effect on ulcerative colitis by modulating the JAK-STAT signaling pathway,thereby providing an experimental foundation for the application of Rau-volfia verticillata in ulcerative colitis treatment.