Background::Dioscorea septemloba Thunb. (DST) has demonstrated therapeutic potential
in the treatment of gout and its associated complications. However, the underlying mechanisms
of DST’s pharmacological activity remain unclear. This study aims to investigate the
pharmacological substances and network regulatory mechanisms of DST in treating gout and its
complications using network pharmacology.
Methods::According to ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with hybrid
quadrupole-Orbitrap mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-Exactive Orbitrap-MS) data and Lipinski’s
rule of five, 24 bioactive phytochemicals from DST were identified. The targets of gout were retrieved
from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), GeneCards, and DisGeNET databases, followed
by gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway (KEGG pathway)
enrichment analysis. The Cytoscape network analysis was used to identify the primary
pathological pathways and key targets. Finally, LeDock was used for molecular docking to verify
the active components of DST and their core target proteins.
Results::DST contains several core active ingredients, such as tetrahydroimidazo[1,2-a]pyridine-
2,5-dione, diosgenin, beta-sitosterol, dioscorol B, montroumarin and 9,10-dihydro-5,7-
dimethoxy-3,4-phenanthrenediol. Moreover, these active components were found to strongly
bind to the key targets for treating gout and its complications, including HSP90AA1, STAT3,
PTGS2, PPARG, MTOR, HIF1A, MMP9, ESR1, and TLR4. As a result, DST alleviates gout
and its complications by inhibiting xanthine dehydrogenase (XDH) to reduce uric acid levels and
regulating the HIF-1α, EZH2/STAT3, and COX-2/PPAR-γ pathways to reduce inflammation.
Additionally, it also plays an analgesic role by regulating the neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction
pathway and calcium ion signaling pathway.
Conclusion::This study has provided insights into the underlying mechanisms of DST in the
treatment of gout and its complications, which could serve as a scientific foundation for its clinical
translation.