Lee Gihyun, Bae Hyunsu
Department of Physiology, College of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University, 26 Kyunghee-daero, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul 02447, Republic of Korea.
Department of Research and Development, National Development Institute of Korean Medicine, 94 Hwarang-ro, Gyeongsan-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do 38540, Republic of Korea.
Biomed Res Int. 2017;2017:6596241. doi: 10.1155/2017/6596241. Epub 2017 Apr 19.
. Depression is a recurrent, common, and potentially life-threatening psychiatric disease related to multiple assignable causes. Although conventional antidepressant therapy can help relieve symptoms of depression and prevent relapse of the illness, complementary therapies are required due to disadvantage of the current therapy such as adverse effects. Moreover, a number of studies have researched adjunctive therapeutic approaches to improve outcomes for depression patients. . One potential complementary method with conventional antidepressants involves the use of medicinal herbs and phytochemicals that provide therapeutic benefits. Studies have revealed beneficial effects of medical herbs and phytochemicals on depression and their central nervous system mechanism. Here, we summarize the current knowledge of the therapeutic benefits of phytochemicals and medicinal herbs against depression and describe their detailed mechanisms. . There are two sections, phytochemicals against depression and medical herbs against depression, in this review. . Use of phytomedicine may be an alternative option for the treatment of depression in case conventional drugs are not applicable due to their side effects, low effectiveness, or inaccessibility. However, the efficacy and safety of these phytomedicine treatments for depression have to be supported by clinical studies.
抑郁症是一种反复发作、常见且可能危及生命的精神疾病，与多种可归因的病因相关。尽管传统抗抑郁疗法有助于缓解抑郁症状并预防疾病复发，但由于当前疗法存在诸如不良反应等缺点，仍需要辅助疗法。此外，许多研究探讨了辅助治疗方法以改善抑郁症患者的治疗效果。
一种与传统抗抑郁药相结合的潜在辅助方法是使用具有治疗益处的草药和植物化学物质。研究揭示了草药和植物化学物质对抑郁症的有益作用及其中枢神经系统机制。在此，我们总结了目前关于植物化学物质和草药抗抑郁治疗益处的知识，并描述其详细机制。
本综述分为两个部分，即植物化学物质抗抑郁和草药抗抑郁。
如果传统药物因副作用、疗效低或难以获得而不适用，使用植物药可能是治疗抑郁症的另一种选择。然而，这些植物药治疗抑郁症的疗效和安全性必须得到临床研究的支持。
