Objective  To systematically summarize medication patterns and explore the potential mechanisms of core herbal combinations in treating chronic glomerulonephritis (CGN) based on data mining and network pharmacology, and to provide a reference for clinical treatment strategies.

Methods  Electronic book databases were searched to screen the CGN prescription from the works of contemporary Xin'an medical practitioners. Frequency statistics, association rule analysis, and clustering algorithms via the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) Inheritance Support Platform V3.5 were applied to identify high-frequency herbs (frequency of use >10%) and core combinations. Active ingredients and potential targets were predicted using TCMSP, PubChem, and SwissTargetPrediction databases. Disease-related targets were retrieved from OMIM and GeneCards, after obtaining the intersecting targets, followed by protein-protein interaction (PPI) network construction (STRING platform), Cytoscape topological analysis, and GO and KEGG pathway enrichment (DAVID).

Results  A total of 151 prescriptions related to the treatment of CGN were included, involving 213 flavours of TCM, including 42 varites of high frequency drugs, mainly in the categories of supplementing deficiency, eliminating dampness and diuresis and clearing heat. The herb properties were mainly cold, warm, and neutral, with flavors of sweet, bitter, and pungent. Herbs primarily targeted the liver, lung, kidney, and spleen meridians. The core combination "Astragali Radix, Dioscorea Rhizome, Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma, Imperata Rhizome, Pyrrosiae Folium, Poria" was identified, with key active ingredients including quercetin, stigmasterol, and β-sitosterol. Core targets involved IL6, EGFR, TNF, AKT1, and PIK3CA, while enriched pathways included PI3K-Akt and AGE-RAGE signaling.

Conclusion  Contemporary Xin'an practitioners primarily treat CGN by tonifying the spleen, nourishing the kidney, and clearing damp-heat. The core herbal combination exerts synergistic effects through multi-target intervention in immune-inflammatory pathways, oxidative stress, and fibrotic pathways, highlighting the holistic therapeutic advantages of TCM formulas via multi-component synergistic regulation and multi-target interactions. This study provides a theoretical foundation for further experimental validation and clinical applications.

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