Abstract: Objective:To investigate the therapeutic mechanism of Xiaoer Kesou syrup for post infectious cough(PIC) based on network pharmacology and molecular docking approaches.Methods:Multiple databases were used for systemic analysis and prediction.Active components of Xiaoer Kesou syrup were identified via the TCMSP,structural validation was made based on PubChem database,and the potential targets of action were predicted through Swiss Target Prediction platform.PIC related targets were retrieved from OMIM,PharmGKB,and GeneCards databases.Venn analysis was used to establish shared target sets between drug and disease.Cytoscape 3-8-2 was adopted to construct multi dimensional interaction network model,including "drugm component target disease" network and protein protein interaction(PPI) network derived from STRING databases,to identify core bioactive substances and core target proteins.Gene ontology(GO) functional analysis and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes(KEGG) pathways enrichment analysis were achieved by Metascape platform,and pathway target networks were visualized.Molecular docking validation was conducted using AutoDock Vina to evaluate the ligand receptor binding affinity.Results:Totally 18 active components in the Xiaoer Kesou syrup and 273 drug disease shared targets were identified.Core targets mainly involved TP53,AKT1,EGFR,IL6,and SRC.Enrichment analysis showed that the pathways of action mainly involved cancer related signaling transduction (hsa05200),PI3K/AKT signaling cascade (hsa04151),and development mechanism of atherosclerosis(hsa05417).Molecular docking confirmed stable binding affinities between key components and core targets(AKT1,SRC),in which the docking affinity was relatively high between proscillaridin A,formononetin and AKT1,SRC,showing significant binding advantages.Conclusion:Xiaoer Kesou syrup exerts therapeutic effects on post infectious cough through multi component regulation of multiple targets and pathways,and its mechanism of action may involve anti inflam mation,antivirus,immunomodulation and other aspects.This study preliminarily validates its pharmacological mechanisms in the treatment of post infectious cough,providing novel insights for clinical PIC treatment. 

Key words: Post infectious cough, Xiaoer Kesou syrup, Network pharmacology, Molecular docking technology, Mechanism of action