Silicosis is an incurable
chronic disease characterized by lung
fibrosis and
inflammation. The combination of
tetrandrine and
Buyang Huanwu Decoction (BYHWD) has a curative effect on
silicosis. However, the mechanism of action and the key active constituent in BYHWD are still unclear. The present study employed network pharmacology and molecular docking to determine the mechanism of action and the key active components of BYHWD of
Tetrandrine in combination with BYHWD for
silicosis. The primary elements and targets of BYHWD were obtained from the
Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology and analysis platform. The targets associated with
tetrandrine and
silicosis were identified and extracted from the Comparative Toxicogenomics Database and GeneCards database. The potential targets for the treatment of
silicosis using a combination of
Tetrandrine and BYHWD were identified by considering the overlapping targets between compound drugs and
silicosis. These targets were then utilized to construct protein-protein interaction networks, compound drug-ingredient-target networks, and perform enrichment analyses. The top 5 active ingredients present in the compound drug-ingredient-target network are
tetrandrine,
quercetin,
luteolin,
kaempferol, and
beta-carotene. Similarly, the top 6 hub genes in the protein-protein interaction network are
FGF2, MMP-9, MMP-1,
IL-10,
IL-17A, and
IL-6. The molecular docking suggested that the active components may easily access the active pocket of the hub gene. The in-silico investigation suggested that
quercetin might be the active component in BYHWD responsible for therapeutic effectiveness against
silicosis. This study identified the active compound and potential molecular mechanism underlying the
therapeutic effects of BYHWD in combination with
tetrandrine for treating
silicosis. Notably, we found that
quercetin may serve as the key compound in BYHWD for the treatment of
silicosis.