〔Abstract〕 Objective To explore berberine(BBR) inhibiting apoptosis of nucleus pulposus cells(NPCs) and degradation of extracellular matrix(ECM) in rats induced by H2O2by mediating Notch signaling pathway. Methods NPCs of SD male rats were isolated by sequential enzyme digestion. They were divided into Control group(no intervention),basic fibroblast growth factor( b FGF) group,H2O2group,BBR25 group,BBR50 group and BBR100 group. The proliferation rates in each group were detected by CCK8 method at different time points of incubation. Apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry. The expression of proteins was detected by Western blot. The expression of m RNA was detected by real-time quantitative PCR( RT-PCR). Results After 48 h of cell incubation,cell proliferation rate in bFGF group,BBR25 group,BBR50 group and BBR100 group was higher than that in H2O2group( P<0. 05). Compared with the control group,the expression levels of COL2 A1 m RNA and proteins in H2O2group decreased,while the expression levels of MMP-13 and ACAN m RNA and protein increased. Compared with H2O2group,the expression levels of COL2 A1 m RNA and proteins increased in b FGF group,BBR25 group,BBR50 group and BBR100 group,while the expression levels of MMP-13 and ACAN m RNA and protein decreased( P<0. 05). Conclusion BBR can inhibit NPCs apoptosis and ECM degradation in rats induced by H2O2. The action mechanism may be related to activation of Notch signaling pathway.