Mechanism of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Treating Depressive-related Syndromes Based on Intestinal Flora： A Review / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ABSTRACT

The depressive state， as an emotional disorder， has common symptoms of lack of interest， self-denial， unresponsiveness， unwillingness to communicate， and even extreme misanthropy or suicidal tendency. The depressive state involves a variety of diseases， such as depression， post-stroke depression， postpartum depression， irritable bowel syndrome， major depression， and schizophrenia， which affects the treatment effect and prognosis of the disease， seriously reduces the quality of life and increases the economic burden of patients. At present， the mechanism of depressive state is complex， and the pathophysiological mechanism is unclear. The mechanism of depressive state may be related to abnormal expression of monoamine neurotransmitters， neuronal damage， changes in transduction pathways， hyperactivity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal （HPA） axis， release of inflammatory cytokines， etc. An increasing number of studies in recent years have confirmed that the occurrence of depression is closely related to intestinal flora disorder， and they interact with each other. Traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） is effective in preventing and treating depressive state with few adverse reactions and a low recurrence rate. TCM also has the effect of regulating the homeostasis of intestinal flora. At the same time， intestinal flora affects the absorption and efficacy of active components of Chinese medicine through metabolic transformation. With the development of microecology， in-depth studies are conducted on the effect of intestinal flora on the occurrence and development of depressive state and brain-gut axis. Intestinal flora has become another potential target for the study of TCM treating depressive state. Starting from the theory and clinical practice of TCM， this paper summarized the mechanism of TCM in treating depressive state by Chinese medicine monomers， compound prescriptions， and acupuncture based on the theory of intestinal flora in recent years. This paper provided information for the profound study of the pathogenesis of depressive state and the scientific connotation of TCM in treating depressive state and ideas for the systematic exploration of the microbiological basis of symptom changes.