A Study on the Mechanism of Medicinal cyathula Roots in the Treatment of Diabetic Nephropathy Based on Network Pharmacology.

Authors

Muhammad Muzammil Nazir, Iqra Farzeen, Saima Muzammil, Sara Nazir, Muhammad Mujammil Nazir, Asma Ashraf

Published in

Current computer-aided drug design. Oct 22, 2026. Epub Oct 22, 2026.

Abstract

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is one of the leading causes of chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal failure worldwide, highlighting the urgent need for effective multitarget therapeutic strategies. Medicinal Cyathula roots possess anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and metabolic regulatory activities; however, their molecular mechanisms against DN remain poorly understood.
In this study, a network pharmacology strategy, combined with molecular docking, was employed to elucidate the pharmacological basis underlying the medicinal properties of Cyathula roots in DN treatment.
An integrative computer-aided strategy combining network pharmacology, protein- protein interaction (PPI) analysis, Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses, and molecular docking was employed to elucidate the therapeutic mechanisms of medicinal Cyathula roots in DN.
A total of 41 phytochemical constituents were initially retrieved, of which 10 bioactive compounds satisfied the pharmacokinetic screening criteria (oral bioavailability ≥30% and druglikeness ≥0.18). Network topology analysis highlighted PPARG, TNF, MMP9, AGTR1, REN, and other hub genes as key regulators of inflammatory responses, insulin resistance, lipid metabolism, and renin-angiotensin signaling.
Cyasterone and precyasterone exhibited the highest network connectivity, suggesting that they may represent the principal bioactive constituents responsible for the multitarget therapeutic effects of medicinal Cyathula roots. GO and KEGG enrichment analyses further indicated significant involvement in pathways associated with insulin resistance, adipocytokine signaling, diabetic cardiomyopathy, and the renin-angiotensin system.
Collectively, these findings provide a systems-level understanding of the multitarget mechanisms of medicinal Cyathula roots against DN and offer a computational framework for future experimental validation and natural product-based drug discovery.

PMID:
42973304
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 03 Nov 2026.

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