(P20-28-26) Bioactive Compounds of Tagetes Modulate Immunometabolic Pathways Linking Inflammation and Fatty Liver Disease

Objectives: To investigate the potential mechanisms by which bioactive compounds from Tagetes species influence inflammatory and metabolic health using a network pharmacology approach.

Methods: Bioactive compounds of Tagetes were retrieved from BATMAN-TCM and related phytochemical databases. Compound targets were predicted using BATMAN-TCM, INPUT, and NetInfer and standardized to UniProt identifiers. Gene sets associated with inflammation, fatty liver disease, metabolic disorders, and skin diseases were obtained from GeneCards. Overlapping genes between compound targets and disease genes were identified. Functional enrichment analyses were conducted using Gene Ontology (GO), KEGG, and Reactome databases, and protein–protein interaction networks were evaluated using Metascape.

Results: Thirty-five Tagetes compounds were linked to 1,029 predicted protein targets. Intersection analysis identified 253 genes overlapping with inflammation, 152 with fatty liver disease, 181 with metabolic disorders, and 219 with skin diseases. Enrichment analyses highlighted immune-inflammatory pathways (TNF, IL-17, Toll-like receptor), metabolic regulators (AMPK, FoxO, insulin signaling), and oxidative stress responses (AGE–RAGE and hypoxia signaling). Protein–protein interaction analysis identified key modules related to cytokine signaling, MAPK pathways, GPCR signaling, and lipid metabolism.

Conclusions: These findings suggest that Tagetes may exert multi-target regulatory effects on inflammatory, metabolic, and oxidative pathways. The results provide mechanistic hypotheses and potential biomarker targets for future experimental and clinical studies of Tagetes-derived nutritional interventions.

Funding Sources: Thailand Science Research and Innovation (TSRI); National Science, Research and Innovation Fund (Thailand); Chulalongkorn University (Second Century Fund and Graduate Scholarship Programme).