Research Progress on the Mechanism of the Effective Components of Duzhong (Eucommiae Cortex) on Lumbar Disk Herniation

Abstract Duzhong (Eucommiae Cortex) is one of the most commonly used Chinese herb in the treatment of lumbar disk herniation (LDH). Both the single use of it and as a Chinese herbal compound have significant clinical efficacy. Its effective components including lignans, flavonoids, iridoid terpenes, polysaccharides, etc., participate in the treatment of LDH through multiple channels, which can effectively inhibit immune and inflammatory reactions, promote the repair of intervertebral disk bone tissues, protect neurological functions, enhance cell metabolism, regulate endocrine, etc. The signal pathways of Wnt/β-catenin, TNF, HL-1, MAPK, PI3K/AKT, and NF-κB may be also involved. The action mechanism of Duzhong (Eucommiae Cortex) on LDH is characterized by multiple paths, multiple targets, and multiple component cross-actions, but the direct effects of specific components of Duzhong (Eucommiae Cortex) on LDH pathological tissues have not been clarified in the existing studies. At present, the study on the efficacy of Chinese herbs has not yet included the chemical reactions among the pharmaceutical components and pharmaceutical processing, etc. Relevant experimental studies need to further extract the effective components through purification technology, analyze the target information between Duzhong (Eucommiae Cortex) and LDH through network pharmacology and biology, and strengthen the influence of different processing methods on the pharmaceutical effects of Chinese herbs to increase the choice of clinical medication. In the experimental study, the animal cell models were finely constructed, and the pathological targets of LDH were excavated, which was conducive to the development and application of new drugs.