Objective  To explore the mechanism of Taohong Siwu Decoction in the treatment of femoral head necrosis by means of network pharmacology method.

  Methods  Through Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology (TCMSP), GeneCards, OMIM and Drugbank databases, the active components and targets of Taohong Siwu Decoction in the treatment of osteonecrosis of femoral head were obtained, and then the active component-target interaction network, protein-protein Interaction(PPI)network and molecular docking were constructed. Finally, GO enrichment and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis were performed.

  Results  Sixty-nine active ingredients were screened from Taohong Siwu Decoction. The main active ingredients for femoral head necrosis were quercetin, kaempferol, and luteolin; the key targets were vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and runt-related transcription factor 2 (Runx2). Through molecular docking server analysis, it was found that the active components of Taohong Siwu Decoction could bind closely to the key targets. GO enrichment analysis showed that the molecular functions mainly included transcription factor binding, steroid hormone receptor activity, protein kinase binding and so on. Biological processes mainly involved cytokine mediated signaling pathways, response to steroid hormones, apoptosis signaling pathways and other biological processes. Cell components mainly included nuclear transcription factor complex, protein kinase complex, protein-DNA complex and so on. KEGG enrichment analysis revealed that VEGF, Janus kinase/signal transduction and transcriptional activator (JAK/STAT) as well as nuclear transcription factor-kappa B (NF-κB) signaling pathways were involved.

  Conclusion  Taking VEGF, IL-6 and Runx2 as targets, the action mechanism of active ingredients of Taohong Siwu Decoction including quercetin, kaempferol, luteolin and so is to participate in VEGF, JAK/STAT and NF-κB signaling pathways in treatment of femoral head necrosis.