The medication rules and mechanism of traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of intervertebral disc degeneration

Dong Shuang; Li Xingxuan; Xie Zongjun; Wen Tianlin; Liu Donghua

doi:10.3760/j.issn.1673-4777.2025.06.020

Abstract：Objective To analyze the medication rules of traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of intervertebral disc degeneration(IVDD)based on data mining,and to explore the mechanism of core drug combi-nation in the treatment of IVDD using network pharmacology.Methods Apriori algorithm was used to analyze the association rules of the data based on CNKI,Wanfang database and VIP journal database.On this basis,the mechanism of core drugs in the treatment of IVDD was analyzed by network pharmacology,and the interaction between core components and key targets was verified by molecular docking.Results A total of 167 articles were included,and 52 compound formulas were screened,involving 109 Chinese herbs.Association rule analysis showed that the core drug combination was"safflower-peach kernel-Chuanxiong-Angelica".Network pharmacology analysis identified 27 core active ingredients,including quercetin,luteolin,kaempferol,baicalein,β-carotene,β-sitosterol,etc.There were 73 core targets,mainly vascular endothelial growth factor A(VEGFA),cellular tumor antigen p53(TP53),tumor necrosis factor(TNF),matrix metalloproteinase 9(MMP-9),etc.A total of 164 signaling pathways were involved,mainly interleukin-17 pathway,TNF signaling pathway,cancer signaling pathway,etc.Molecular docking results showed that the core targets predicted by network pharmacology could stably bind to the key active components of the core drug group.Conclusions Quercetin,luteolin,kaempferol,baicalin and other components in the drug combination of"safflower-peach kernel-Chuanxiong-Angelica"may be the material basis for the treatment of IVDD,which can act on VEGFA,TP53,TNF,MMP-9 and other targets.1t plays a role in the treatment of IVDD by regulating TNF signaling pathway,IL-17 signaling pathway,cancer signa-ling pathway and other pathways to reduce inflammatory response,control the apoptosis of nucleus pulposus cells,and regulate the metabolism of extracellular matrix.