Glycyrrhiza uralensis is used to treat alcoholic liver injury in China; however, its pharmacological mechanism remains to be clarified. Here, the potential of G. uralensis for the treatment of alcoholic liver injury was explored using a network pharmacology and molecular docking approach. The effective components and targets of G. uralensis were searched in a traditional Chinese medicine systems pharmacology database and analysis platform. Disease targets were obtained using the GeneCards and OMIM databases. The target genes of G. uralensis and alcoholic liver injury were compared to obtain common target genes. Symbol conversion was carried out using the Uniport database, and the composition–target network of G. uralensis and alcoholic liver injury was prepared. A protein–protein interaction network was constructed. Gene Ontology functional enrichment and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analyses were performed. AutoDock was used for the molecular docking of core compounds and key targets. One hundred and ninety-three common target genes of G. uralensis and alcoholic liver injury were screened. We identified targets of five active components of G. uralensis, namely, formononetin, 3′-methoxyglabridin, glypallichalcone, 1-methoxyphaseollidin, and glabridin. The main targets identified via the protein–protein interaction network analysis were JUN, MAPK3, STAT3, AKT1, and MAPK1. The biological processes associated with xenobiotic stimulus and lipopolysaccharide metabolism were involved. These biological processes were common between Glycyrrhiza treatment and liver injury. They mainly involved lipid and atherosclerosis, chemical carcinogenic gene-receptor activation, and Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus. Shinpterocarpin and 7-methoxy-2-methyl-isoflavone had good docking effects with MAPK3, and their binding energies were less than −5 kcal/mol. Based on the network pharmacology and molecular docking analyses, the chemical compositions, potential targets, and pathways involved in G. uralensis treatment of alcoholic liver injury were successfully predicted. This study lays a foundation for the selection of drugs to treat alcoholic liver injury.

The current study, the effectiveness of analyzing Glycyrrhiza uralensis for the treatment of COVID-19 was investigated using an integrated network pharmacology and molecular docking approach. Through network pharmacology, establishment of Protein-Protein Interactions (PPI), molecular docking simulations, GO analysis, and KEGG analysis, the aim was to investigate the mechanism of licorice in the treatment of COVID-19. There are 7 core genes corresponding to 3 bioactive compounds of G. uralensis. The target proteins of G. uralensis for the treatment of neocoronary pneumonia could be enriched to cancer pathway, lipid The target proteins of G. uralensis for the treatment of neocoronary pneumonia could be enriched to cancer pathway, lipid and atherosclerosis pathway, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, and down-regulate the activity of core targets to inhibit the expression of virus SARS-CoV-2. Based on molecular docking simulations, the largest significant binding affinities were found for TNF and 7-Methoxy-2-methyl isoflavone (-6.95 kcal/mol), MAPK1 and kaempferol (-6.75 kcal/mol), and AKT1 and quercetin (-6.74 kcal/mol). Quercetin induces viral cell cycle arrest and inhibits growth and metastasis by engaging in the induction and expression of key intracellular targets. The flavonoid chemicals of kaempferol can inhibit inflammation-related signaling pathways and suppress the release of inflammation-related factors, and 7-methoxy-2-methylisoflavone may have therapeutic effects on COVID-19 by reducing hydroxyproline levels to suppress lung inflammation and fibrosis indices and modulate immune function. This suggests that G. uralensis has an interfering effect on novel coronaviruses and its main active component has a strong binding ability to the core gene of SARS-CoV-2, providing knowledge for future studies based on COVID-19.