Abstract: Objective: To explore the potential mechanism of persicae semen-carthami flos medicine pair in the treatment of cervical
spondylosis. Methods: Active components of persicae semen-carthami flos were screened by databases such as TCMSP and PubChem,
and the targets of these components were identified using the Swiss Target Prediction database. Targets related to cervical spondylosis
were obtained from OMIM, DrugBank, and DisGeNET databases. Common targets of "the herb pair and the disease" were selected
using Venny software to construct a "drug-active ingredient-target-disease" network and a protein-protein interaction network,
thereby identifying core components and core targets. The Metascape platform was used for GO function and KEGG pathway
enrichment analysis of the core targets, and molecular docking validation was performed for some core components and core targets. Results: A total of 28 active components, 499 drug targets, and 5 093 disease targets were screened, yielding 312 common targets of
"the herb pair and the disease". GO function enrichment analysis revealed that persicae semen-carthami flos drug pair primarily
regulates responses to external stimuli and kinase activity to exert therapeutic effects. KEGG pathway enrichment analysis indicated
that the herb pair improves symptoms of cervical spondylosis by regulating pathways such as the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, lipids,
and atherosclerosis. Molecular docking results showed good binding energies between lignin, luteolin, quercetin, and TP53, SRC,
PIK3CA. Conclusion: The persicae semen-carthami flos medicine pair effectively improves symptoms of cervical spondylosis through
a multi-component, multi-target, and multi-pathway mechanism. Signaling pathways such as PI3K-Akt may be the main route of
action, providing a theoretical basis for subsequent experimental research.

Key words: cervical spondylosis, persicae semen-carthami flos, network pharmacology, molecular docking, mechanism of action