Analysis of blood components and the mechanism of anti-pharyngitis and gut microbiota regulation in Ardisia crenata and its relatives

This study comprehensively integrated network pharmacology, molecular docking, and gut microbiota analysis to explore the anti-pharyngitis targets and pathways of Ardisia crenata Sims (ZSG), Ardisia crenata Sims var.bicolor (Walk) (HLS) and Ardisiacrispa (Thunb.) (BLJ), and to investigate their underlying mechanisms. PPI networks and “herb-component-target-disease” networks were constructed, followed by GO and KEGG enrichment analysis. Molecular docking demonstrated strong binding affinity between the active components and the core targets. Additionally, changes in gut microbiota and endogenous metabolites in rats were analyzed by combining 16S rDNA high-throughput sequencing and untargeted metabolomics. The results revealed that the central targets are SRC, TNF, PIK3CA, STAT3, JAK2. KEGG analysis highlighted notable involvement of the PI3K/AKT, Rap1, Ras, Estrogen signaling pathways. Moreover, all three herbs were found to modulate the gut microbiota to some extent, contributing to the alleviation of microbial dysbiosis. In conclusion, ZSG, HLS and BLJ exert anti-pharyngitis effects through multi-target and multi-pathway mechanisms.