Abstract: Based on network pharmacology and molecular docking,the mechanism of coptis chinensis for the treatment of COVID-19 has been investigated.The Chinese herbal medicine systems pharmacology platform (TCMSP) was used to screen the active components and targets of Coptis chinensis.GeneCards and OMIM screened the disease targets of COVID-19,R screened the common targets of drugs and diseases,and Cytoscape constructed a "drug-active ingredient- target-disease” interaction network,STRING constructed a common target protein interaction network,ClueGo performed gene function analysis for common targets,and R performed Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analysis for common targets.Then molecular docking was performed between the core components of Coptis chinensis active components and the main targets for the treatment of COVID-19.The preliminary exploration obtained 14 active ingredients of Coptis chinensis with 235 targets and 341 genes related to COVID-19.The key targets of Coptis chinensis in the treatment of COVID-19 include VEGFA,IL6,POR,and PLAT.Molecular docking results showed that the core compound of Coptis chinensis has a certain affinity for VEGFA,IL6,POR,and PLAT.

Key words: Coptis chinensis, COVID-19, network pharmacology, molecular docking, mechanism of action