Anti-Inflammatory Components of Artemisia scoparia Alleviate Ulcerative Colitis: An Integrated Study Combining UPLC-Q-Exactive Orbitrap MS/MS, Network Pharmacology, Molecular Docking, and In Vivo/In Vitro Validation

Abstract

Artemisia scoparia is a classic medicinal and edible plant with great exploitation potential in anti-inflammatory research. This study aimed to explore its anti-ulcerative colitis bioactive constituents and corresponding mechanisms of action. A total of 15 flavonoids and coumarins were identified by macroporous resin purification combined with ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled to UPLC-Q-Exactive Orbitrap MS/MS. Seven key bioactive compounds (eupatilin, cirsimaritin, quercetin, scoparone, 7-hydroxycoumarin, scopoletin and esculetin) and six core targets (TNF, AKT1, SRC, EGFR, HSP90AA1 and ESR1) were further screened via network pharmacology. Subsequent molecular docking analysis verified that flavonoids exhibited markedly stronger binding affinity to target proteins than coumarins. In vitro cellular experiments revealed that eupatilin exhibited the strongest anti-inflammatory activity among all key components. In vivo animal assays further validated that eupatilin alleviated colonic injury and markedly reduced the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 in mice with DSS-induced ulcerative colitis. This work provides vital experimental evidence for the development and utilization of anti-ulcerative colitis ingredients from A. scoparia, and validates its promising health-related application value in the food industry.