Network pharmacology predicts targets and pathways of herbal components for the treatment of pneumonia: A review

Pneumonia is a respiratory disease with high pathogenicity and mortality. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is a natural therapy that has proven effectiveness and safety. Although TCM has been found to be effective in treating pneumonia, further research is needed to determine the specific mechanism of action. This paper presents a literature search conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) databases using the keywords "pneumonia" and "network pharmacology." After screening, we retained the literature related to TCM. The study found that, according to network pharmacology prediction, 4 types of TCMs-natural active compounds, single herb medicine, Chinese patent medicines, and multi-component herbal formulations-were effective in treating pneumonia. TCM components demonstrated a multi-target and multi-pathway approach to treat the disease. The diversity of targets and signaling pathways not only facilitates the investigation of TCM's mechanism of action of TCM in pneumonia treatment but also offers novel insights and perspectives for innovative drug research and development.