ReviewNeuropsychiatric disease and treatment2026
Traditional Chinese Medicine Ameliorates Depression via the Gut-Brain Axis: A Review Focus on NLRP3/TLR4-Mediated Inflammatory Pathways and Gut Microbiota Modulation.
Review in Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Dual modulation of the NLRP3/CASPASE-1 inflammasome pathway and gut microbial metabolism: the antidepressant mechanism of puerarin.Frontiers in microbiology · 2026Article
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
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Abstract
Objective: Depression, a global mental disorder, is linked to gut-brain axis (GBA) dysfunction. This review explores how traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)-including single herbs (eg, Astragalus membranaceus, Lycium barbarum), herbal formulas (eg, Xiaoyaosan, Xiaochaihu Decoction), and acupuncture-alleviates depression via the GBA, focusing on neuroscience-relevant mechanisms (inflammation, neurotrophy). Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted on PubMed, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Embase from database inception to July 2025. Keywords included ["Traditional Chinese Medicine" or "TCM" or "herb" or "herbal extracts" or "Chinese herbal formulas"], ["depression" or "Depressive like behavior"], ["immune regulation"], ["inflammatory reaction"], ["neuroregeneration" or "nerve" or "neurotransmitter"]. Including peer-reviewed studies on human/animal models, articles that do not meet the requirements are excluded. A total of 307 eligible studies were included. Results: TCM regulates gut microbiota composition-eg, increasing Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium while reducing pathogenic taxa. Mechanistically, TCM inhibits pro-inflammatory pathways: herbs (eg, Astragalus membranaceus) and formulas (eg, Xiaoyaosan) downregulate IL-6, TNF-α, and IL-1β via suppressing NLRP3 inflammasome and TLR4/NF-κB signaling. They also enhance anti-inflammatory IL-10, elevate neurotransmitters (5-HT, DA), and upregulate BDNF. Acupuncture mirrors these effects, reducing plasma IL-6/TNF-α and restoring microbial balance to improve depressive behaviors. Conclusion: TCM alleviates depression by integrating gut microbiota modulation, inflammatory suppression, and neuroprotection through the GBA. This review highlights TCM's potential as a safe, alternative therapy for depression and identifies directions for standardized, large-scale clinical validation.
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