Traditional Chinese Medicinal Herbs for Treating Post-Ischemic Stroke Cognitive Impairment Insights From Frequency and Association Analysis.

BACKGROUND

This study analyzes medicinal herbs in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) formulations for post-ischemic stroke cognitive impairment, identifying key herbs, their interactions, and potential therapeutic mechanisms through systematic review, frequency analysis, and association rule mining.

METHODS

Systematic searches were performed across major databases (CBM, CNKI, VIP, Wanfang Data) to find studies on TCM for post-ischemic stroke cognitive impairment. Inclusion criteria focused on studies reporting TCM formulas and their cognitive effects. Data extraction standardized herb names, and frequency analysis identified high-frequency herbs (>10%). Association rule mining was done using Python with a minimum support of 10%, a minimum confidence of 50%, and a maximum antecedent size of 5 to uncover key herb associations for therapeutic insights.

RESULTS

A systematic review identified 56 studies on TCM formulas for post-ischemic stroke cognitive impairment, extracting 114 herbs. Frequency analysis found 27 herbs used in over 10% of formulas, with Ligusticum chuanxiong, Acorus tatarinowii, and Salvia miltiorrhiza being most common. Association rule mining revealed key combinations, suggesting potential synergistic effects in TCM treatments.

CONCLUSION

This study highlights key traditional Chinese herbs and herb combinations commonly used in clinical practice for cognitive impairment after ischemic stroke. The findings suggest that herb pairs such as Ligusticum chuanxiong-Salvia miltiorrhiza and Acorus tatarinowii-Polygala tenuifolia may exert synergistic effects consistent with both TCM theory and modern pharmacology. These results provide direction for future targeted studies and support the rational formulation of TCM-based interventions in stroke rehabilitation.