New insight of chemical constituents in Persea americana fruit against obesity via data-driven analysis

Abstract

Abstract Background: Persea americana fruit (PAF) is a favorable nutraceutical resource that comprises diverse unsaturated fatty acids. Unsaturated fatty acids are significant in dietary supplementation, as they relieve metabolic disorders, including obesity (OB). Unquestionably, a plethora of natural plants contain fatty acids found in PAF. This study focused on the anti-OB efficacy of the non-fatty acids in PAF using a network pharmacology approach. Results: A total of 41 chemical compounds in PAF were identified by NPASS and other reports. All 41 compounds conformed to Lipinski’s rule, and 52 intersecting targets were selected from the SEA and STP databases. Finally, 31 overlapping targets were selected from the 52 intersecting targets and OB-related targets (3028), which were considered as key proteins against OB, including AKT1 as the uppermost key target. On the bubble chart, the PPAR signaling pathway had the highest rich factor and its modulation was determined as the key mechanism, suggesting that this pathway may have an agonistic function in treating OB. The PFA-signaling pathways-targets-compounds (PSTC) network showed that AKT1 had the greatest degree value. The MDA results showed that AKT1-γ-tocopherol, PPARA-fucosterol, PPARD-stigmasterol, PPARG-fucosterol, NR1H3-campesterol, and ILK-α-tocopherol formed the most stable complexes. These five key compounds were nontoxic, and could be developed as new antagonists to alleviate OB. Conclusions: In summary, this study suggests that the non-fatty acids in PAF might play central roles in OB. Notably, alpha-tocopherol, gamma-tocopherol, fucosterol, stigmasterol, and campesterol might be key players in the activation on PPAR signaling pathway. However, the results of this study should be further investigated to determine the therapeutic value of these compounds.