Unveiling the Anti‐Inflammatory Mechanism of <scp> <i>Ziziphus jujuba</i> </scp> Mill. var. <i>spinosa</i> Flowers: Network Pharmacology, Molecular Docking and Experimental Validation

During the cultivation of Ziziphus jujuba Mill. var. spinosa trees, two varieties exhibiting floral sterility were identified. Their flowers are often discarded, resulting in resource wastage. Therefore, non-targeted metabolomics technology was employed to characterize the chemical composition of Z. jujuba Mill. var. spinosa flowers. Network pharmacology was then utilized to explore their medicinal active components and mechanisms of action, which were validated through molecular docking and in vitro anti-inflammatory experiments. Results revealed that 3851 metabolites were identified in Z. jujuba Mill. var. spinosa flowers, with 23 potential compounds screened. Among these, 212 targets were directly involved in inflammatory responses. KEGG enrichment analysis suggested that Z. jujuba Mill. var. spinosa flowers may exert anti-inflammatory effects through the TNF signaling pathway, Toll-like receptor signaling pathway, Th17 cell differentiation, and hypoxia-inducible factor-1 pathway. Molecular docking results indicated that active components in Z. jujuba Mill. var. spinosa flowers exhibit good binding affinity with key inflammatory targets. In vitro anti-inflammatory assays validated that the ethanol extract of Z. jujuba Mill. var. spinosa flowers reduces the expression of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6, thereby alleviating inflammation. This study preliminarily demonstrates that Z. jujuba Mill. var. spinosa flowers contain anti-inflammatory active components, and the associated bioactive substances hold potential for development into anti-inflammatory drugs.