Abstract:
Objective: The protective effects of
Craterellus cornucopioides water extracts (CCWE) on rat model of UC were investigated in this study. Methods: Trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS) was used to induce an ulcerative colitis (UC) model in rats. Pathological injury was assessed by monitoring body weight changes, disease activity index (DAI) scores, and hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining of colonic tissues. The levels of myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity, nitric oxide (NO), superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, malondialdehyde (MDA), and pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1
β, TNF-
α, IL-6) in colon tissues were examined to evaluate the therapeutic effects of CCWE on UC. Network pharmacology was employed to screen active ingredients, targets, and pathways of CCWE against UC, followed by molecular docking validation of key interactions to elucidate its material basis and mechanism of action. Results: The results indicated that the DAI score of the TNBS group was significantly higher than that of the control group (
P<0.05). Compared with the TNBS group, CCWE significantly reduced the DAI score (
P<0.05) and improved macroscopic and histological damage. In addition, compared with the TNBS group, CCWE also significantly decreased the levels of MPO, NO, MDA, IL-1
β, TNF-
α and IL-6 (
P<0.01), while significantly increasing the level of SOD (
P<0.01). The core targets of CCWE in treating UC were predicted to be
stat3、src、mapk3、pik3r1 and
akt1 by network pharmacology. The mechanisms of action encompass the HIF-1, relaxin, and PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. The main components of CCWE for treating UC might be illudin T, quercetin, 4-hydroxy-4-isopropenylcyclohexanemethanol acetate, 4-oxo-hex-5-enyl acetate, craterellins B, ferulic acid, craterellins A, caffeic acid, 4-oxohex-1,6-diyl diacetate, and illudin M. Molecular docking results indicate that the active components of CCWE exhibit good binding affinity with these five core targets, with quercetin and 4-oxo-hex-5-enyl acetate showing the most significant docking scores. Conclusion: The results indicate that CCWE's active constituents, quercetin and 4-oxo-hex-5-enyl acetate, could modulate gene expression, including
stat3、src、mapk3、pik3r1 and
akt1, ultimately activating HIF-1, relaxin, and PI3K/Akt pathways for UC treatment.