Xiao Yao San

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Chinese Medicine Research Hub

Review Article

Xiao Yao San has potential as an effective and safe alternative treatment for depression, offering multiple mechanisms of action for its antidepressant effects.

2022 Frontiers in Pharmacology Research progress on classical traditional chinese medicine formula xiaoyaosan in the treatment of depression
Chen J, Lei C, Li X, Wu Q, Liu C, Ma Q, Chen J.

Chinese Medicine Research Hub

Systematic Review

Xiao Yao San, alone or combined with anxiolytics, assists in better improvement and safety in treating anxiety disorders compared to anxiolytics alone.

2022 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine Evaluation of the Safety and Efficacy of Xiao Yao San as a Treatment for Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Lin J, Ji Y, Si J, Wang G, Li X, Shen L

Chinese Medicine Research Hub

Systematic Review

Xiao Yao San can improve symptoms and reduce recurrence rates in patients with disorders of gut-brain interaction.

2022 Frontiers in Pharmacology Efficacy and Safety of Chinese Herbal Medicine Xiao Yao San in Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders: A meta-Analysis and Trial Sequential Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
Liu Q, Shi Z, Zhang T, Jiang T, Luo X, Su X, Yang Y and Wei W

Chinese Medicine Research Hub

Systematic Review

Xiao Yao San and its modifications were effective for the improvement of general symptoms and fatigue severity in chronic fatigue syndrome post-treatment.

2020 Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine Effectiveness of Soyo-san (Xiaoyao-san) and its Modifications on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Kim J, Song J, Nam D

Chinese Medicine Research Hub

Systematic Review

TCM pattern-based treatments for depression frequently use Xiao Yao and Chai Hu Shu Gan decoctions, with Bai Shao and Chai Hu herbs common across different TCM patterns.

2015 Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine Prescription of Chinese Herbal Medicine in Pattern-Based Traditional Chinese Medicine Treatment for Depression: A Systematic Review
Yeung WF, Chung KF, Ng KY, Yu YM, Zhang SP, Ng BFL, Ziea ETC

Executive Summary

Write an executive summary in the form of a blog article on the topic of "Research into Chinese medicine treatment for Xiao Yao San" summarising the research below and using language that can be easily understood by patients and avoiding medical jargon using a professional and caring tone of voice.

Write an executive summary in the form of a blog article on the topic of "Researched Chinese medicine treatments for Xiao Yao San" summarising the research below in an objective and easy to understand way, and using language that can be easily understood by patients. Group the article into Chinese medicine treatments first, followed by nutrition and other treatments. Avoid using medical jargon and use a professional and caring tone of voice.

Write me a concise but easy to understand executive summary on the topic of "Chinese medicine treatments for Xiao Yao San" based on the following research that I will give you. Your summary should be 2 paragraphs long in Australian English spelling and include references to the studies.

A Review Article published in 2022 in the journal Frontiers in Pharmacology found that Xiao Yao San has potential as an effective and safe alternative treatment for depression, offering multiple mechanisms of action for its antidepressant effects. The article discusses the use of Xiaoyaosan, a traditional Chinese medicine formulation, in the treatment of depression. It reviews recent evidence from animal and clinical studies, highlighting the pharmacological mechanisms and effective components involved in the antidepressant effects of Xiaoyaosan. The review explores various factors such as neurotransmitters, neuroplasticity, inflammatory response, gut-brain axis, oxidative stress, and autophagy that contribute to its therapeutic effects. The article emphasizes the potential of Xiaoyaosan as an alternative therapy for depression and provides an overview of its mechanisms of action.

A Systematic Review published in 2022 in the journal Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine found that Xiao Yao San, alone or combined with anxiolytics, assists in better improvement and safety in treating anxiety disorders compared to anxiolytics alone. The methodology involved a systematic search on PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, Web of Science, and several Chinese databases for all randomized control trials (RCTs) that have evaluated the use of XYS for treating anxiety disorders until November 2021. The studies were independently screened, and data were extracted by two investigators who also assessed the risk of bias in the selected trials using RevMan5.3 software. The meta-analysis result shows that the use of XYS, either on its own or together with anxiolytics, showed better improvements in anxiety-related symptoms and fewer adverse drug reactions compared to treatment with anxiolytics only. This suggests that XYS, whether used alone or in conjunction with anxiolytic agents, appears to offer a more effective and safer treatment option for anxiety disorders.

A Systematic Review published in 2022 in the journal Frontiers in Pharmacology found that Xiao Yao San can improve symptoms and reduce recurrence rates in patients with disorders of gut-brain interaction. The paper's methodology involved a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials found in seven databases, up until November 22, 2021. The trials, which totaled 48 all together, were included to determine the efficacy of Xiao-Yao-San in treating disorders of gut-brain interaction (previously known as functional gastrointestinal disorders). A range of measures, including therapeutic efficacy, symptom score, Self-Rating Anxiety Scale score, Self-Rating Depression Scale score, and the recurrence rate, were analysed using both random-effects and fixed-effects models, as well as trial sequential analysis. In terms of results, Xiao-Yao-San showed a marked improvement in the effective rate of managing disorders of gut-brain interaction compared to western drugs, both when used alone and in combination with western medicine. The paper also found the treatment notably reduced symptom scores, anxiety scores, and depression scores for patients with the disorder. Further, instances of recurrence were also reduced. Overall, Xiao-Yao-San was well tolerated and no serious adverse events were reported in any of the trials included in this analysis.

A Systematic Review published in 2020 in the journal Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine found that Xiao Yao San and its modifications were effective for the improvement of general symptoms and fatigue severity in chronic fatigue syndrome post-treatment. We performed selection/exclusion process from the found studies to conform with prespecified criteria, and assessed the final included trials according to the Cochrane risk of bias tool. The included studies were classified based on the interventions in experimental and control group. Eight randomized controlled trials and one controlled clinical trial (total 921 participants) were eligible and their results were synthesized in the meta analysis. The synthesis showed a considerable effect of Soyo-san and its modifications on improvement of general symptoms and fatigue severity in CFS patients, while effect on depression and anxiety were inconclusive.

A Systematic Review published in 2015 in the journal Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine found that TCM pattern-based treatments for depression frequently use Xiao Yao and Chai Hu Shu Gan decoctions, with Bai Shao and Chai Hu herbs common across different TCM patterns. The methodology incorporated a systematic review of randomized controlled trials from both Chinese and English literatures regarding traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) pattern-based treatments for depression. This encompassed a total of 61 studies and 2504 subjects across 27 TCM patterns. Due to varied TCM patterns among participants, the analysis focused on the four most prevalent ones: liver qi depression, liver depression and spleen deficiency, dual deficiency of the heart and spleen as well as liver depression and qi stagnation. In the discussion of results, it was found that Xiaoyao decoction was most frequently used for the treatment of liver qi depression and liver depression with spleen deficiency, whereas Chaihu Shugan decoction was typically used for liver depression and qi stagnation. Commonly used herbs regardless of the prescribed Chinese herbal formulas included Bai Shao and Chai Hu. Typically, the individual studies did not provide an underlying rationale for herb selection, limiting the conclusions one could draw regarding the efficacy of certain herbal formulas and the response of specific TCM patterns to these treatments.

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