Title:Analysis of Pharmacological Activities and Mechanisms of Essential Oil in
Leaves of C. grandis ‘Tomentosa’ by GC-MS/MS and Network Pharmacology
Volume: 26
Issue: 9
Author(s): Jie-Shu You, Sheng-Cai He, Liang Chen, Zhen-Hui Guo, Fei Gao, Min-Yue Zhang, Liu Dan*Wei Chen*
Affiliation:
- Galactophore Department,
Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China
- School of Basic Medical Sciences, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China
Keywords:
Leaves of C. grandis ‘Tomentosa, ’ essential oils, GC-MS/MS, network pharmacology, component-target-disease, tomentosa.
Abstract:
Background: Citrus grandis ‘Tomentosa,’ a fruit epicarp of C. grandis ‘Tomentosa’ or
C. grandis (L.) Osbeck is widely used in health food and medicine. Based on our survey results,
there are also rich essential oils with bioactivities in leaves, but the chemical compounds in this part
and relevant pharmacological activities have never been studied systematically. Therefore, this
study was to preliminarily decipher the pharmacological activities and mechanisms of the essential
oil in leaves of C. grandis ‘Tomentosa’ by an integrated network pharmacology approach.
Methods: Essential oil compositions from leaves ofC. grandis ‘Tomentosa’ were identified using
GC-MS/MS. And then, the targets of these oil compositions were predicted and screened from
TCMSP, SwissTargetPrediction, STITCH and SEA databases. STRING database was used to construct
the protein-protein interaction networks, and the eligible protein targets were input into
WebGestalt 2019 to carry out GO enrichment and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis. Based on
the potential targets, disease enrichment information was obtained by TTD databases. Cytoscape
software was used to construct the component-target-disease network diagrams.
Results: Finally, 61 essential oil chemical components were identified by GC-MS/MS, which correspond
to 679 potential targets. Biological function analysis showed 12, 19, and 12 GO entries related
to biological processes, cell components and molecular functions, respectively. 43 KEGG pathways
were identified, of which the most significant categories were terpenoid backbone biosynthesis,
TNF signaling pathway and leishmaniasis. The component-target-disease network diagram revealed
that the essential oil compositions in leaves of C. grandis ‘Tomentosa’ could treat tumors,
immune diseases, neurodegenerative diseases and respiratory diseases, which were highly related to
CHRM1, PTGS2, CASP3, MAP2K1 and CDC25B.
Conclusion: This study may provide new insight into C. grandis ‘Tomentosa’ or C. grandis (L.)
Osbeck and may provide useful information for future utilization and development.