ABSTRACT
Background
Propolis is widely used in the pharmaceutical field for its biological properties such as antioxidant, immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, antiviral and antibacterial effects. The flavonoids contained in propolis can reduce virus replication and have anti-COVID-19 potential. This study aimed to explore the active compounds of propolis through network pharmacology and molecular docking and to reveal its mechanism of action against SARS-CoV-2.
Materials and Methods
Prediction of target genes of Chinese Propolis Ethanolic Extracts (PEE) for COVID-19 treatment using the BATMAN database and the GeneCards database. Using Cytoscape to construct herbal-component-target networks. The hub targets of PEE were analyzed using Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG). The main active compounds of PEE were docked to SARS-CoV-2 3C-Like (3CL) protease hydrolase (SARS-CoV-2 3CL) and Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme II (ACE2).
Results
The hub targets of PEE for COVID-19 treatment were AKT1, IL6, TNF, IL1B, CNR1 and PPARA. There were 166 GO items (p <0.01) in the GO enrichment analysis and 95 pathways (p <0.01) in the KEGG enrichment analysis and the key signaling pathways included: MAPK signaling pathway, FoxO signaling pathway, NF-κB signaling pathway and PI3K-AKT signaling pathway. Molecular docking results showed that both trans-isoferulic acid and apigenin had strong affinity for SARS-CoV-2 3CL and ACE2.
Conclusion
The trans-isoferulic acid and apigenin in PEE may play a therapeutic role in COVID-19 by regulating AKT1 and MAPK signaling pathways.