Abstract:Objective To explore the effect and mechanism of self-made Bushen Quyu Decoction in treatment of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).Methods Six-week-old SPF SD female rats were selected and randomly divided into control group, model group, western medicine group, and combination group after letrozole modeling. After drug intervention, Western blotting, RT-PCR, and immunohistochemistry were used to detect the expression of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), nuclear factor κB (NF-κB), and nuclear factor IκB (IκBα). The body weight and serum testosterone (T), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and luteinizing hormone (LH) were compared in each group before and after treatment.Results Before treatment, the differences in body weight of the rats in each group were tested by one-way ANOVA, and the difference was not statistically significant (PP > 0.05). After treatment, the differences in the body weight of the rats in each group were statistically significant by one-way ANOVA test (P < 0.05). Further pairwise comparisons showed that the body weight of the model group after treatment was higher than that of the other three groups (P < 0.05), the body weight of the group was higher than that of the combined group and the control group (P < 0.05), and the body weight of the combined group was higher than that of the control group (P < 0.05). The differences between groups in abdominal aortic blood T, FSH and LH of rats in each group were statistically significant (P < 0.05). Further pairwise comparison showed that T, FSH and LH in the model group were higher than those in the other three groups (P < 0.05); at the same time, the western medicine group was higher than the combination group and the control group (P < 0.05), and the combination group was higher than the control group (P < 0.05). The differences in the protein expression, mRNA expression, and OD value of TNF-α, NF-κB, and IκBα in ovarian tissue of each group were statistically significant by one-way ANOVA test (P < 0.05). Further pairwise comparison showed that the expression of TNF-α, NF-κB protein, mRNA expression, and OD value in the ovarian tissue of the model group were higher than those of the other three groups, while the protein expression, mRNA expression and OD value of IκBα were lower than those of the other three groups (P < 0.05); TNF-α, NF-κB protein expression, mRNA expression, and OD value in the ovarian tissue of the western medicine group were higher than those of the combination group and the control group (P < 0.05), and these of the combination group was higher than those of the control group (P < 0.05); the expression of IκBα protein, mRNA expression, and OD in ovarian tissue of the western medicine group were lower than those of the combination group and the control group (P < 0.05), and these of the combination group was lower than those of the control group (P < 0.05).Conclusion The self-made Bushen Huayu Decoction for PCOS can promote the recovery of LH, FSH and T by regulating TNF-α/NF-κB/IκBα signaling pathway.