Chinese Journal of Tissue Engineering Research ›› 2026, Vol. 30 ›› Issue (24): 6316-6327.doi: 10.12307/2026.227

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Traditional Chinese Medicine compound formula and effective ingredients for treating intervertebral disc degeneration: a multi-targeted and holistic regulation concept

Zhong Haotian1, Li Jianwen2, Han Weichao2, Li Songbo1, 2   

  1. 1The First School of Clinical Medicine, Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang 524023, Guangdong Province, China; 2The Tenth Affiliated Hospital of Southern Medical University (Dongguan People’s Hospital), Dongguan 523069, Guangdong Province, China
  • Received:2025-06-30 Revised:2025-11-06 Online:2026-08-28 Published:2026-02-03
  • Contact: Li Songbo, MS, Chief physician, Master’s supervisor, The First School of Clinical Medicine, Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang 524023, Guangdong Province, China; The Tenth Affiliated Hospital of Southern Medical University (Dongguan People’s Hospital), Dongguan 523069, Guangdong Province, China
  • About author:Zhong Haotian, MS candidate, The First School of Clinical Medicine, Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang 524023, Guangdong Province, China
  • Supported by:
    2021 Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Fund Joint Fund, No. 2021B1515140056 (to LSB); 2022 Dongguan Social Development Science and Technology Project, No. 20221800906282 (to LJW)

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has significant potential and benefits in the treatment of intervertebral disc degeneration. However, reviews on the mechanisms by which TCM ameliorates disc degeneration are relatively limited.
OBJECTIVE: To review how TCM compounds and their active ingredients improve intervertebral disc degeneration through mechanisms such as anti-inflammation, antioxidative stress, maintenance of extracellular matrix balance and regulation of programmed cell death. 
METHODS: CNKI, WanFang, PubMed, and Web of Science were retrieved for relevant literature published from January 2001 to June 2025. The Chinese search terms were “Chinese herb, compound, traditional Chinese medicine, herbal medicine, soup, formula, degenerative disc disease, disc degeneration, disc injury, annulus fibrosus, cartilage endplates, nucleus pulposus, research, progress, review, experiment, inflammation, oxidative stress, extracellular matrix, programmed cell death, apoptosis, pyroptosis, ferroptosis, autophagy, immune cells, mechanisms.” The English search terms included “traditional Chinese medicine, herbal medicine, herbal formula, intervertebral disc degeneration, intervertebral disc, disc degeneration, nucleus pulposus, annulus fibrosus, cartilage endplate, oxidative stress, extracellular matrix, inflammation, programmed cell death, apoptosis, pyroptosis, ferroptosis, autophagy, review, progress, experiment.” Articles were selected based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria and 104 articles were finally included for analysis.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: TCM can effectively inhibit the release of inflammatory factors and the activation of inflammatory pathways to improve the local inflammatory state of the intervertebral disc through multiple mechanisms, but its specific mechanisms in different immune cell-mediated inflammatory responses are still unclear. TCM has demonstrated strong multi-targeting ability in mitigating oxidative stress in the intervertebral disc, especially in enhancing the activity of antioxidant enzymes, stabilizing the mitochondrial function, and inhibiting reactive oxygen species accumulation. However, there is a lack of systematic comparison of the antioxidant effects of different TCM active ingredients in different intervertebral disc cell types, and the interaction mechanism between the relevant signaling pathways needs to be explored in-depth. TCM can effectively alleviate the structural disorders of intervertebral discs by modulating the activities of extracellular matrix synthesizing and degrading enzymes. Multiple forms of programmed death, such as apoptosis, pyroptosis, iron death and autophagy, are involved in the development of intervertebral disc degeneration. These forms do not exist in isolation from each other, but interact with each other through a complex signaling network. Therefore, it is expected that the advantages of multi-targeted and holistic regulation of traditional Chinese medicines can be utilized to simultaneously regulate multiple cell programmed death processes, protect intervertebral disc cells and slow down the degeneration in multiple dimensions.

Key words: traditional Chinese medicine compound, active components of traditional Chinese medicine, intervertebral disc degeneration, mechanism research, intervertebral disc injury, review

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