To Explore the Mechanism of “Fuzi-Guizhi” for the Treatment of Osteoarthritis on the Basis of Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking

Objective: The objective of this study is to analyze and verify the main drug components and targets of "Fuzi-Guizhi" in the treatment of osteoarthritis by using the network pharmacology platform. Methods: The integrated pharmacology of "Fuzi-Guizhi" was analyzed by using the platform of integrated pharmacology of traditional Chinese medicine to explore its mechanism in the treatment of osteoarthritis. By establishing an arthritis model in vitro, the pharmacological effect of "aconitecassia twigs" on articular cartilage was evaluated and conducted for molecular docking. Results: 28 candidate active components, 37 compound targets, and 583 osteoarthritis-related potential targets were screened, and 10 key target processes were screened in the protein interaction network model. Enrichment analysis showed that the 10 core targets involved 958 GO biologic function items and 76 KEGG signal pathways, which were mainly related to apoptosis and mitochondrial functional metabolism. And "Fuzi-Guizhi" drug-containing serum inhibited the expression of Caspase-3 mRNA and protein in chondrocytes and promoted the synthesis of ATP. Conclusion: Our research is preliminary that the mechanism of action of "Fuzi-Guizhi" may inhibit chondrocyte degeneration by resisting mitochondrial apoptosis, and further experimental research is required to determine.