Abstract: To explore the key target and potential mechanism of Polygonum cuspidatum in the treatment of diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) by network pharmacology, the main active components of Polygonum cuspidatum were obtained by retrieval of traditional Chi-nese medicine systems pharmacology database and analysis platform (TCMSP) combined with literature review, and the potential targets were predicted. The targets of DCM were obtained by GeneCards and online Mendelian inheritance in man (OMIM) database and the intersection targets were obtained by drawing Venn diagram. The String database and CytoScape software were used to construct the network of Polygonum cuspidatum-active constituents-intersection target and protein-protein interaction (PPI) network. The target gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) en-richment analysis were conducted using the database for annotation, visualization and integrated discovery (DAVID). There were 15 active components and 214 potential targets of Polygonum cuspidatum in treatment of DCM, mainly involving lipid and atherosclerosis, AGE-RAGE signaling pathway in diabetic complications, IL-17 signaling pathway, HIF-1 signaling pathway, insulin resistance, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway and apoptosis. These results demonstrate that Polygonum cuspidatum plays a key role in the treatment of DCM through multiple active components, multiple targets and multiple pathways.

Key words: Polygonum cuspidatum, diabetic cardiomyopathy(DCM), network pharma-cology, target, action mechanism