REVIEW article
Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Ethnopharmacology
Bioactive Metabolites of Botanical Drugs in the Treatment of Intervertebral Disc Degeneration-A Review of Promising Therapeutic Candidate
Provisionally accepted
- First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China
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Background: Intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD) refers to the structural degeneration of intervertebral discs that occurs with aging or overuse, including annulus fibrosus rupture, nucleus pulposus dehydration, reduced proteoglycan content, and decreased elasticity. The bioactive metabolites of botanical drugs (BMBDs) refer to the chemical substances derived from plants that can exert specific physiological effects on living organisms, including the human body. Various types of the BMBDs regulate key protein targets and signaling pathways, demonstrating effects such as alleviating nucleus pulposus cell inflammation and oxidative stress levels, inhibiting extracellular matrix degradation, and regulating nucleus pulposus cell autophagy and apoptosis. Methods: All experimental information and summaries used in this review were acquired from peer-reviewed articles in the relevant fields. The PubMed, Web of Science (WOS), Google Scholar, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) databases were searched for relevant articles. Information on the manual classification and selection of BMBDs that protect against IVDD is included in this review. Results: The literature review identified mutiple studies on the characteristics of BMBDs, which delay IVDD from various aspects through a wide range of key targets and signaling pathways. Conclusion: This review summarizes the pharmacological effects and mechanisms of different types of BMBDs in the treatment of IVDD, providing a theoretical foundation for further pharmacological research and the development of new drugs for treating IVDD, as well as strong theoretical support for future clinical applications.
Keywords: Bioactive metabolites of botanical drugs, Intervertebral Disc Degeneration, Preclinical Research, Promising therapeutic candidate, Traditional Chinese medicine
Received: 06 Sep 2025; Accepted: 04 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Qi, Fan and Sun. 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: Jiabing Sun
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