Anti-aging mechanism of deer antler velvet: a network pharmacology and molecular docking analysis

JOURNAL/agad/04.03/02274129-990000000-00018/figure1/v/2025-11-21T143541Z/r/image-tiff MCurrent studies on the anti-aging effects of deer antler velvet primarily focus on individual components or tissues. This study employed a network pharmacology approach combined with molecular docking technology to elucidate the specific mechanisms by which the multi-component synergy of deer antler velvet modulates aging. We constructed network diagrams for “ingredient-target,” protein-protein interactions, and “drug-active ingredient-target-pathway” using Cytoscape 3.10.3. Additionally, we performed gene ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analyses through the David database, and conducted molecular docking verification using AutodockTools 1.5.7. Our findings identified three active components and 55 core targets associated with the anti-aging effects of antler velvet. The gene ontology analysis indicated that these components primarily influence signaling and epigenetic regulatory sites, affecting enzyme binding and transcriptional regulatory processes, thus enhancing repair and anti-stress capabilities. Notably, the targets were enriched in the advanced glycation end products-receptor for advanced glycation end products and hypoxia-inducible factor pathways, and molecular docking revealed that mitogen-activated protein kinase 3, 17-beta-estradiol, progesterone, and cholesterol exhibited the best binding affinities. This study elucidates the specific mechanisms of multi-component and multi-target interventions in aging and provides molecular support for the precise application of deer antler velvet components in the development of anti-aging drugs.