Network Pharmacology-Based Investigation for Predicting Active Ingredients and their Potential Targets from Strychnos nux-nomica L. in Treating Multiple Myeloma*

Abstract

While Strychnos nux-vomica L. has long been used for the treatment of cancer, its pharmacological mechanism remains vague. Herein, we have used network pharmacology to predict active ingredients and potential targets of Strychnos nux-vomica L. in treating multiple myeloma. The results showed that 60 known targets of the Strychnos nux-vomica L. were also targets for multiple myeloma, including 14 of these putative targets were observed to be major hubs in terms of topological importance. Additionally, the results of pathway enrichment analysis indicated that targets of Strychnos nux-vomica L. in treating multiple myeloma were mainly clustered into multiple biological processes that activate several signaling pathways that include the PI3K-Akt, p38-MAPK, Ras/Raf, MEK, and ERK pathways. This implies that these were also involved in the underlying mechanisms of Strychnos nux-vomica L. on multiple myeloma. These data successfully explain the potential effects of Strychnos nux-vomica L. for multiple myeloma treatment via the molecular mechanisms predicted by network pharmacology. Moreover, our present data might shed light on the further clinical application of Strychnos nux-vomica L. in treating multiple myeloma.