From Systems Biology to Traditional Medicine: Unraveling Garlic s Pharmacological and Genetic Targets in Respiratory Infections

Allium sativum L. (garlic) has been widely used in Traditional Persian Medicine (TPM) for the management of cough, fever, and respiratory infections. This study aimed to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying these traditional applications using a network pharmacology approach supported by literature-based validation. Garlic-derived bioactive compounds were collected from the Dictionary of Natural Products and published literature, and their chemical structures were verified using PubChem. Compound-target interactions were predicted using the STITCH database, while respiratory disease-associated genes were retrieved from DisGeNET. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks, topological analyses, Gene Ontology (GO), and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses were performed using Cytoscape and related bioinformatics tools. A PRISMA-guided PubMed review was conducted to summarize experimental evidence supporting the predicted targets. Network analysis identified TNF, MMP۹, IL۶, CASP۳, CASP۹, AKT۱, and XIAP as major hub genes involved in inflammatory, apoptotic, and immune-related pathways. GO and KEGG enrichment analyses highlighted the NF-κB, MAPK, apoptosis, and cytokine signaling pathways as key biological processes associated with garlic activity. Literature-based validation confirmed the central roles of TNF and MMP۹ in respiratory inflammation and supported the predicted pharmacological actions of garlic-derived compounds. Garlic demonstrates a multi-target pharmacological profile that may contribute to the prevention or adjunctive management of respiratory infections through coordinated regulation of inflammation, immune responses, and apoptosis. These findings provide a molecular basis for the traditional use of garlic in TPM and identify potential therapeutic targets for future investigation. Further experimental studies are required to validate these findings.

کلیدواژه ها:

garlic ، Allium sativum ، respiratory infections ، Organosulfur compounds ، inflammation