Study on the Mechanism of Ginseng and Liquorice on Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Based on Network Pharmacology and in Vitro Experiments

Objective: The study was to investigate the potential mechanisms and preliminarily pharmacological effects of ginseng-licorice in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) by network pharmacology and in vitro experiments. Methods: Firstly, the active components and potential targets of ginseng-licorice were screened by using the traditional Chinese medicine system pharmacology database and analysis platform (TCMSP), and the drug-components-target map was constructed using Cytoscape 3.7.1 software. TDD (Therapeutic Target Database), CTD (Comparative Toxicogenomics Database) and Gene Cards (The Human Gene Database) were used to obtain targets for NSCLC, and disease-drug intersection targets were obtained. Protein Interaction Network (PPI) was established by database STRING and Cytoscape software. Combined with PPI, GO and KEGG, the overall analysis was conducted to determine the main pathway and key targets of ginseng-licorice in the treatment of NSCLC. Finally, the anti-tumor effect of ginseng-licorice on NSCLC was verified by MTT colorimetric assay and flow cytometry. Results: The AKT1, TP53, CASP3 and VEGFA should be the potential targets for the treatment of NSCLC 122 targets of "ginseng-licorice" -NSCLC intersection was obtained from the screening of TTD, CTD and gene cards databases. Combined with the comprehensive analysis of PPI, GO and KEGG, the key targets of ginseng and licorice on NSCLC were identified as AKT1, TP53, IL, AMPK and TNF. The results of in vitro experiments showed that the drug to ginseng-licorice could significantly inhibit the proliferation of human non-small cell lung cancer cells, and could induce tumor cell apoptosis, thereby exerting an anti-tumor effect. Conclusion: This study initially explored the potential mechanisms and preliminarily pharmacological effects of the active ingredients of ginseng-licorice on NSCLC, providing a new theoretical basis for the clinical application of drug for the treatment of ginseng-licorice in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer.