Potential Mechanism of Ganoderma lingzhi (lingzhi) in Treating Diabetes Mellitus via Bioinformatics and Network Pharmacology

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Abstract

This study used bioinformatics and network pharmacology to explore Ganoderma lingzhi’s ”multi-component-multi-target-multi-pathway” mechanism in treating diabetes by comparing active components of its fruiting bodies and spore powder.Active components/targets of lingzhi were from TCMSP/CNKI, diabetes-related targets from GeneCards/OMIM/TTD. Venny screened 277 drug-disease intersection targets (from 61 active components, 509 predicted targets, 3025 diabetes targets). Cytoscape built ”component-target-disease” networks, STRING constructed PPI networks to identify core targets (SRC, AKT1, ESR1, etc.). DAVID did GO/KEGG enrichment (focus on MAPK, PI3K-Akt-mTOR pathways). AutoDockVina/PyMOL verified good molecular docking (binding energy < -5 kJ·mol -1 ).Results showed lingzhi’s polysaccharides/triterpenoids are key; it treats diabetes via regulating glucose-lipid metabolism, improving insulin resistance, inhibiting inflammation, providing evidence for natural hypoglycemic drugs.