Unraveling the neuroprotective potential of Aegle marmelos in Alzheimer's disease: a network pharmacology and molecular docking approach.

UNLABELLED: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a multifaceted neurological condition noticeable by neurodegeneration, progressive cognitive impairment, and memory loss. Several interconnected pathological pathways work in harmony to present clinical AD. Currently available anti-AD therapeutics are capable of targeting a few pathways while others remain unchecked, leading to AD progression despite continuous therapy. The current study aimed to discover the potential of Aegle marmelos (AM) bioactives against AD and identify key pathological targets using Network Pharmacology (NP) and Molecular Docking approach. 14 bioactive compounds from AM were identified to have potential anti-AD activity based on favorable pharmacokinetic, safety profiles, NP predictions, and molecular docking validations. Ammijin, O-isopentenylhalfordinol, clionasterol, and fenretinide demonstrated notable binding affinity toward key AD-associated targets, show stronger affinity internal standards used in the study (donepezil and rivastigmine). Protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis, Gene Ontology (GO), and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis showed that these compounds may influence critical pathological pathways involved in AD progression. The findings provide insight into the multi-targeted potential of AM bioactives against AD. Our results not only provided experimental justification for the ethnomedicinal use of AM as a neuroprotectant but also revealed key bioactives and targeted pathways that could be exploited for developing new plant-based therapeutic approaches for AD management. Further in-vitro and in-vivo investigations are necessary to validate these results and explore their practical applications. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40203-026-00559-x.