Mapping Protein Targets of Carnosol, a Molecule Identified in Rosmarinus officinalis: In Silico Docking Studies and Network Pharmacology

Carnosol is a natural diterpene present in Rosmarinus officinalis L. (rosemary) with anti-tumor and anti-inflammatory properties. Despite its importance, the pharmacological mechanisms underlying the interactions between carnosol and human targets are still unclear. The goal was to identify plausible human target for carnosol and the network pharmacology. Rosemary was analyzed using HPLC-QTOF-MS/MS. Potential carnosol targets were identified using docking and a public database (CTD). Carnosol was screened against 708 human proteins using AutoDock Vina, and affinity values were used as prioritization criteria. The targets set was uploaded to WebGestalt to obtain Gene Ontology (GO) and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis. HPLC-QTOF-MS/MS analyses allowed the tentative annotation of nine chemicals, with carnosol being the most ionized. There were 53 plausible targets for carnosol, with 20 identified using virtual screening, including Hsp90α (−10.9 kcal/mol), AKR1C3 (−10.4 kcal/mol), and Hsp90β (−10.4 kcal/mol), and 33 identified from CTD. The potential targets for carnosol identified with PPI and molecular docking were HSP90AA1, MAPK1, MAPK3, CAT, JUN, AHR, and CASP3. GO terms and KEGG pathways analysis found that carnosol is closely related to infection (Chagas, influenza A, toxoplasmosis, and pertussis) and inflammation (IL-17 and TNF signaling pathway and Th-17 cell differentiation). These results demonstrated that carnosol may induce an immuno-inflammatory response.