Network Pharmacology study of antiepileptic active agents

Epilepsy is a multifactorial neurological disorder involving complex molecular mechanisms, which limits the effectiveness of single-target therapies. Hydantoin derivatives, including the clinically used antiepileptic drug phenytoin, exhibit significant anticonvulsant activity; however, their comprehensive molecular mechanisms remain insufficiently understood. In this study, a network pharmacology approach was employed to investigate the multi-target and multi-pathway actions of hydantoin compounds in epilepsy. Potential targets of hydantoin derivatives were predicted using public databases, and epilepsy-associated targets were collected from disease-related resources. Overlapping targets were used to construct compound–target and protein–protein interaction networks, followed by topological analysis to identify key hub genes. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes [KEGG] pathway enrichment analyses were performed to elucidate the underlying biological processes and signalling pathways. The results indicated that hydantoin derivatives modulate multiple epilepsy-related targets involved in neuronal excitability, synaptic transmission, ion channel regulation, and neurotransmitter signalling pathways. This study highlights the polypharmacological nature of hydantoins and provides mechanistic insights supporting their potential as antiepileptic agents.