Abstract: Objective To analyze the ways in which Chinese medicinal compound formulas are used in the treatment of Sjogren's syndrome based on the National Patent Database and to predict the potential targets of action and molecular mechanisms of high frequency drugs in the treatment of Sjogren's syndrome using analytical methods of network pharmacology. Methods Data on patent Chinese medicinal compound formulas for treating Sjogren's syndrome was retrieved from the Chinese Patent Search Database as of December 10, 2022. Microsoft Excel 2022 and IBM SPSS Modeler 18.0 were used to analyze these included compounds in terms of frequency, correlations and clustering analysis. The chemical components of TCM and their potential targets were retrieved from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systematic Pharmacology Database (TCMSP) platform. OMIM and GeneCards were used to screen the Sjogren' Syndrome-related disease targets. The Venny diagram was drawn to identify the intersection targets of high-frequency drugs and Sjogren's syndrome targets. The protein interaction network was constructed while the final core targets were screened by using the STRING database. The Metascape website was used to find the pathways and functions of high core target enrichment. Results According to the screening results via the national patent database, 69 eligible Chinese medicine compound patents for the treatment of Sjogren's syndrome were obtained, including 353 drugs, and the top 5 high-frequency drugs were Maidong(Dwarf Lilyturf Tuber), Dihuang (Rehmanniae Radix), Gancao (Licorice), Shihu (Dendrobium nobile Lindl) and Baishao (White Peony Root). These five drugs involved 161 compounds and 1 585 related targets, 1 058 targets related to the Sjogren's syndrome, 81 treatment targets and 28 core targets. Through enrichment analysis, 177 KEGG pathways were obtained, including IL-17 signaling pathway, PD-1/PD-L1 pathway and JAK-STAT signaling pathway. A total of 3 106 GO biological processes (BPs) were retrieved, involving cellular responses to biological stimuli and lipopolysaccharides and the processes of positive regulation of cytokine production. The 193 GO cellular components (CCs) involved the outer plasma membrane and membrane microregions. Conclusion Sjogren' Syndrome is generally treated with Chinese medicinal compound formulas by nourishing Yin, moistening dryness and generating fluid. The medications for Sjogren's Syndrome have multi-component, multi-target and multi-pathway properties and are closely related to IL-6, MMP3, SATA3 and TNF possibly through IL-17, PD-1/PD-L1 pathways. This study is expected to provide reference for subsequent clinical treatment of Sjogren's syndrome.

Key words: Sjogren's syndrome, Chinese medicinal compound formulas, data mining, network pharmacology, law of compatibility, Maidong, Dihuang, Gancao, Shihu, Baishao