The effect of Rhodiolae Crenulatae Radix et Rhizoma-Panacis Quinquefolii Radix-Ganoderma-grape seed compound (RHPG) in alleviating ulcerative colitis(UC) was investigated in this study. Network pharmacology was employed to predict the active ingredients and potential targets of RHPG in alleviating UC, and the protein-protein interaction network was constructed to screen the core targets. GO and KEGG enrichment analysis for common targets were performed using the DAVID database, and molecular docking was performed to verify the binding ability between the core ingredients and the core targets. A murine model of UC was induced by dextran sulfate sodium to validate computational predictions from network pharmacology. The results of network pharmacology analysis revealed 18 active components of RHPG and 146 potential targets for alleviating UC. These targets were primarily involved in inflammatory responses, protein binding, negative regulation of the apoptotic process, as well as the phosphoinositide 3-kinase AKT serine/threonine kinase (PI3K-AKT) signaling pathway, the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway, and the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) signaling pathway. The core targets include TNF, AKT serine/threonine kinase 1 (AKT1), prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2 (PTGS2), proto-oncogene tyrosine-protein kinase Src (SRC), and a total of 32 others. Core components such as anthocyanins, ganoderic acid B, and ginsenoside Rh₁ have high binding affinity with to core targets such as AKT1, SRC and PTGS2. The in vivo mouse experiments demonstrated that the RHPG compound effectively mitigated the shortening of the colon in UC mice, ameliorated histological injury in colon tissues, alleviated body weight loss, reduced the disease activity index score, and suppressed the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including TNF-α, interleukin-6 (IL-6) and IL-1β in colonic tissues. In conclusion, the RHPG compound can effectively alleviate the symptoms of colitis in UC mice. It is hypothesized that the mechanism of action may be associated with signaling pathways such as TNF-α and PI3K-AKT.

"> ulcerative colitis, network pharmacology, Rhodiolae Crenulatae Radix et Rhizoma, Panacis Quinquefolii Radix, Ganoderma, grape seed