Therapeutic Effects of Atalantia ceylanica (Arn.) Oliv. Leaves Essential Oil in Acute Bronchitis Treatment: Network Pharmacology-based Exploration

Abstract

Background: Network pharmacology involves in mapping of poly-pharmacology networks onto the human disease-gene network, thereby uncovering the therapeutic potential of numerous plant extracts and herbal remedies. Atalantia ceylanica (AC), a plant belonging to the Rutacea family, has demonstrated effectiveness in treating acute bronchitis within traditional medicine systems, yet its mechanism of action remains unclear. Objective: To identify pathways associated with bronchitis that are modulated by active compounds present in the essential oil of AC leaves, using network pharmacology Methods: Active components and action targets of AC were identified using the Swiss Target Prediction and SEA search server databases. Targets associated with acute bronchitis were obtained from the Gene card and DisGeNET databases. A protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed using the STRING database, with common targets were identified through Venny 2.1. The network was visualized using Cytoscape. Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopaedia of Genes and Genome (KEGG) pathway analyses were conducted using bioinformatics data tools. Results: The screening involved four bioactive compounds and 336 AC-related gene targets, alongside 1557 acute bronchitis-related gene targets, yielding 79 common gene targets. The PPI network compromised of 78 nodes and 430 edges. According to the results of GO analysis, the top biological processes, cellular components, and molecular functions enriched were responded to molecules of bacterial origin, membrane raft, and non-membrane spanning protein tyrosine kinase activity, respectively. KEGG pathway analysis identified 87 related significant pathways (false detection rate = 0.019), indicating potential attenuation of inflammatory processes related to acute bronchitis pathophysiology by AC essential oil, including neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction, chemical carcinogenesis receptor activation, NF-kappa B signaling pathway, and arachidonic acid metabolism. Conclusion: This study highlights AC as a valuable therapeutic option in traditional medicine system in Sri Lanka for the treatment of acute bronchitis, providing a foundation for its enhanced clinical application.