Endometriosis (EMs) is recorded as Zheng Jia in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) books. Guizhi Fuling Pills (GFPs), a classic prescription for promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis, is widely used for women's blood stasis diseases represented by Zheng Jia. At present, it has been applied to treat EMs in clinical settings. In this review, we systematically summarized the active ingredients and pharmacological mechanism of five Chinese herbs contained in GFPs and clinical applications of GFPs. The potential pathways of GFPs in the treatment of EMs were explored through network pharmacology. The current researches results indicate that the mechanisms of GFPs in the treatment of EMs mainly include acesodyne, anti-inflammation and improvement of hemodynamics. The main active compounds that are responsible for pharmacological effects in five Chinese herbs are paeonol, pachymic acid, cinnamaldehyde, amygdaloside and Paeoniflorin. This review can lay the foundation and identify the research direction for the development of GFPs as a new drug therapy for the treatment of EMs.
Keywords: Endometriosis; Guizhi Fuling Pills; Zheng Jia; pharmacological; traditional Chinese medicine.
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