Multi-Targeted Prediction of the Antiviral Effect of <i>Momordica charantia</i> extract based on Network Pharmacology

Abstract

The fruits of Momordica charantia (Bitter Gourd) are well known for centuries as a natural remedy for the treatment of various ailments. In this study, we aimed to explore the metabolites present in both varieties of small and big bitter gourds and to explore the multitarget mechanism of M. charantia in antiviral infection by utilizing network pharmacology. The study design involves the identification of the compounds in both varieties of the bitter gourd by Agilent QTOFLC-MS/MS system, followed by screening for ADME to analyze the possible mechanism of action, disease association, protein-protein interactions and major pathways involved therein.  Several Databases used were IMPAT, BindingDB, Swiss Target Prediction, STRING, DAVID, and KEGG databases, and algorithms were used to gather information. To visualize the network, Cytoscape 3.2.1 was used. As a result, a total of 22 and 27 compounds were detected from small and big bitter gourds respectively. . The molecules from M.charantia provide an antiviral response through the involvement of pathways like toll-like receptor pathway, PI3/AKT pathway, NF-kappa B signalling pathway, and cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction. Moreover, the core target genes termed ‘Hub Genes” were also identified through Cyto-hubba. The main mechanisms of M. charantia were acquired by investigating the enrichment of each cluster through functional association clustering analysis. Our results exposed the mechanism of M. charantia against viral infection by multi-component, multi-target, and multi-pathway study combinations.