Network Pharmacology Approach to Determine the Molecular Mechanism of Chitraka (Plumbago zeylanica L.) in the Treatment of Obesity

Background: The state of excessive bodily fat buildup is known as obesity (Sthoulya). Anti-obesity drugs in the market might cause adverse effects, for safer and more effective anti-obesity medications from plant-based sources becomes a top focus. In Ayurveda, Chitraka moola (Plumbago zeylanica L.) is a commonly used herb, because of its therapeutic effect. Network pharmacology is an area of drug discovery and development research by creating an opportunity for the methodical study of conventional treatments. This study highlights key phytochemicals, targets and signalling pathways of Chitraka for the treatment of obesity. Materials and Methods: This study assessed through biological databases, GeneCard, HPA databases, PPI Network Construction, KEGG pathway enrichment analysis, target-Compound-Pathway’ Network Construction and Molecular Docking Analysis. Results: Using the BindingDB and Uniprot databases, pinpointed 155 target genes with respect to these 28 active phytochemicals, Curated gene-disease data were extracted from the GeneCard and HPA databases based on the term obesity it was found that 26 out of the 28 drugs target exactly 137 disease targets linked to obesity, Using the String database, a PPI network was built. KEGG functional enrichment analysis to investigate the signalling pathways was carried out using SHINYGO database, Cytoscape was used to build the interaction relationship between 15 significantly enriched KEGG pathways, 137 intersecting targets and 26 core active ingredients, Molecular Docking visualises the binding pose with the highest docking score. Conclusion: This study emphasizes crucial mechanism, target and bioactive of Chitraka against obesity, indicating a strong pharmacological foundation for additional clinical research.