Meta-analysis and network pharmacology studies of the clinical efficacy of Guizhi Fuling capsules/pills combined with dienogest in treating endometriosis

Abstract

Background: Endometriosis (EMs) is a common chronic inflammatory gynecological disease that belongs to the classification of Traditional Chinese Medicine Syndromes "Zheng Jia,"and the classic Chinese formula Guizhi Fuling (GZFL) demonstrates significant clinical efficacy in the treatment of this condition. This study aims to investigate GZFL's effect and potential mechanism in EMs. Methods: The search reviewed randomized controlled trials in 7 databases from inception to 2024, assessed quality with the Cochrane tool, and analyzed data with STATA 15 by 2 reviewers. In the network pharmacology study, we searched and screened the components and targets of GZFL, subsequently compared these targets to EMs targets, and used bioinformatics techniques to analyze and explore their potential interactions. Results: Nine randomized controlled trials involving 897 participants were analyzed. Meta-analysis showed that GZFL combined with dienogest significantly enhanced the clinical effectiveness rate (odds ratio=2.404, 95% confidence intervals [CI], 1.868 to 3.093; P