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Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Kai-Xin-San (KXS, or Happy Feeling Powder), a typical Chinese herbal prescription, is frequently used for treating depression by the multi-level and multi-target mechanism., Aim of the Study: To systematically investigate the efficacy and safety of KXS on depression in preclinic trials., Materials and Methods: We independently searched for preclinical animal studies of KXS on depression from inception to June 28, 2022, using electronic databases, e.g., PUBMED. The measurements were performed to assess the outcomes of behavioral tests., Results: This systematic review and meta-analysis included twenty-four studies and 608 animals. A remarkable effect of KXS in depression behavioral tests, including sucrose consumption test (SMD: 2.36, 95% CI: (1.81, 2.90); Z = 8.49, P < 0.00001)., forced swimming test (MD = -60.52, 95% CI: (-89.04, -31.99); Z = 4.16, P < 0.0001), rearing times (MD=4.48, 95% CI: (3.39, 5.57); Z = 8.05, P < 0.00001) and crossing times (MD = -33.7, 95% CI: (25.74, 41.67); Z = 8.29, P < 0.00001) in the open field test, showing KXS's excellent efficiency in improving depressive-like symptoms of animals., Conclusions: Our meta-analysis showed KXS remarkably relieved animals' depressive-like symptoms, providing evidence that KXS can be a promising drug candidate for depression treatment., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors have no conflict of interest to declare., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Paeoniflorin, a bioactive compound extracted from the traditional Chinese herb, Paeonia lactiflora Pall, has been demonstrated to possess efficient antidepressant activity in previous studies., Aim of the Study: Our systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess the effectiveness of paeoniflorin in relieving depressive-like behaviors in animal models., Materials and Methods: We searched for in vivo studies on the antidepressant effects of paeoniflorin in rodents using electronic databases from their inception to April 2021. The measurements of animal behavioral tests, including the sucrose consumption, forced swimming, tail suspension, and open field tests, were regarded as the outcomes., Results: Fourteen studies involving 416 animals met the inclusion criteria and were included in the meta-analysis. Statistical analysis revealed remarkable differences between the paeoniflorin and control groups. Furthermore, the paeoniflorin group showed great efficiency in improving depressive-like symptoms of animals in the sucrose consumption, forced swimming, tail suspension, and open field tests., Conclusions: Our meta-analysis demonstrates that paeoniflorin can significantly improve depressive-like symptoms in animals and suggests that it can be a potential therapy for patients with depression in the future., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)