Abstract: Objective:To investigate the active components and potential molecular mechanism of Pinellia ternata-Mangnolia officinalis pair in the treatment of epilepsy, and to provide a theoretical basis for clinical treatment of epilepsy. Methods:The active components and their targets of P. ternata and M. officinalis were screened via the traditional Chinese medicine systems pharmacology platform(TCMSP) and therapeutic targets database. The protein interaction network was constructed with the STRING database to screen for core targets of P. ternata and M. officinalis in the treatment of epilepsy. The interactive active network map of "active component-keytarget-pathway" was constructed with Cytoscape software. Biological process and KEGG signal pathway enrichment analysis was performed by DAVID database. Finally, docking of the representative -active components with the core target of epilepsy was carried out using MOE software.Results:Two hundred and fifty-nine components of P. ternata and M. officinalis were obtained. Data analysis showed that ten active components of P. ternataM. officinalis pair were identified, which acted on fifty-five potential targets as well as ten pathways related to epilepsy. Herb-component-target-pathway network analysis showed that baicalein, baicalin and coniferin, etc. were the main active components. These active components interacted with multiple targets and affected various biological pathways to reduce the abnormal electrical discharge of neurons and decrease the frequency of seizure. The targets involved in the treatment of epilepsy included PPARA, PPARD and PPARG, and the pathways included PPAR signaling, steroid hormone biosynthesis and arachidonic acid  metabolism. Molecular docking results showed that PPAR, a representative target for the treatment of epilepsy, had good binding activity with these ten potential active components.Conclusion:The active components of P. ternata-M. officinalis pair regulate multiple biological pathways by regulating and interacting with multiple target proteins related to the occurrence and development of epilepsy, showing the characteristics of being multi-component, multi-target and multiple biological pathways. The present study provides a research basis for the exploration of the active components P. ternata-M. officinalis pair, the study of mechanism of action and clinical rational use of this herb pair in future.

Key words: Epilepsy, Pinellia ternata-Mangnolia officinalis pair, Target prediction, Network pharmacology, Active ingredients, Molecular docking