REVIEW article
Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Ethnopharmacology
The therapeutic potential of icariin in the intervention of bone and joint diseases through multiple pathways : a narrative review
Provisionally accepted
- 1Shuguang Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, Beijing Municipality, China
- 2Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China
- 3School of Medical and Life Sciences, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China
- 4Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, Anhui Province, China
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
The prevalence of bone and joint diseases is projected to increase owing to rapidly aging populations, sedentary lifestyles, and unhealthy diets. This poses a significant challenge for the global healthcare system. In recent years, natural herbal medicines have been used to treat various types of orthopedic diseases, opening new frontiers in new drug research. Epimedium is a traditional Chinese herb with a long history of medicinal use. It is commonly used to treat osteoporosis, joint disorders, cardiovascular diseases, sexual dysfunction and aging. The primary active component of Epimedium is icariin (ICA), an isoprenylated flavonoid. Recent studies have demonstrated its significant positive effects on bone metabolism and remodeling, including promoting osteoblast proliferation and mineralization, reducing osteoclast activity, and inhibiting inflammation and oxidative stress. Thus, ICA represents a potential compound for treating bone and joint diseases. However, the specific mechanisms underlying these effects have not yet been fully elucidated. This paper focuses on the latest advances in the use of ICA for the treatment of skeletal and joint diseases, covering a range of conditions including osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, intervertebral disc degeneration and fractures. Building on this, we have systematically integrated its multi-target pharmacological mechanism network for the first time, elucidating its multi-pathway synergistic effects mediated by regulating the balance of the bone microenvironment. In summary, as a multi-target natural compound, ICA demonstrates significant translational medicine potential in the comprehensive treatment of bone and joint diseases, providing a critical theoretical foundation for the development of novel therapeutic strategies.
Keywords: Icariin, Natural flavonoids, Osteometabolic balance, Inflammation, Oxidativestress, mechanisms
Received: 06 Apr 2025; Accepted: 27 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Luo, WU, Xu, Zhang, Zhao and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Xiangjin Wang, 790265920@qq.com
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.