A SYSTEMS PHARMACOLOGY PERSPECTIVE ON SOLANUM XANTHOCARPUM: INTEGRATING PHYTOCHEMICALS, MOLECULAR TARGETS, SIGNALING PATHWAYS AND THERAPEUTIC APPLICATIONS

Background: Solanum xanthocarpum Schrad. & Wendl. is an important medicinal plant traditionally used for the management of respiratory, inflammatory, hepatic, gastrointestinal, and metabolic disorders. Increasing experimental and computational studies have expanded understanding of its pharmacological potential and molecular mechanisms. Objective: To critically evaluate phytochemistry, experimentally demonstrated pharmacological activities, and published systems pharmacology evidence of S. xanthocarpum, while distinguishing validated findings from computational predictions. Methods: A literature-based review was conducted using PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, SpringerLink, and Google Scholar. Original research articles and review papers describing phytochemistry, pharmacological activities, molecular mechanisms, and published computational studies were critically assessed. No independent target prediction, protein–protein interaction (PPI) analysis, Gene Ontology (GO) or KEGG pathway enrichment, molecular docking, molecular dynamics simulation, or ADME prediction was performed in this review. Computational findings discussed herein were derived exclusively from previously published studies. Results: Experimental evidence demonstrates that S. xanthocarpum extracts and major phytochemicals, including solasodine, solamargine, solasonine, quercetin, apigenin, and lupeol, possess antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, antidiabetic, antimicrobial, immunomodulatory, and anticancer activities in cellular and animal models. Published computational studies have proposed interactions with targets such as AKT1, STAT3, EGFR, VEGFA, TP53, and NFE2L2 and implicated pathways including PI3K/Akt, NF-κB, MAPK, JAK/STAT, HIF-1, and Nrf2/ARE. These proposed mechanisms remain hypothesis-generating and require experimental validation. Conclusion: Current evidence supports the pharmacological potential of S. xanthocarpum, but many mechanistic insights are derived from computational analyses rather than direct experimental validation. Future research should prioritize standardized extracts, mechanistic studies, pharmacokinetic characterization, toxicological evaluation, and well-designed clinical trials.