Chinese herbal medicines promote hippocampal neuroproliferation, reduce stress hormone levels, inhibit apoptosis, and improve behavior in chronically stressed mice.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: An efficacious antidepressant without unwanted side effects is need urgently at present. This study aimed to investigate whether treatment with four Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs), namely Radix Astragali, Saposhnikovia divaricate (SD), Eucommia ulmoides Oliv. bark (EU), and Corydalis yanhusuo W.

Three Chinese herbal medicines promote neuroproliferation in vitro, and reverse the effects of chronic mild stress on behavior, the HPA axis, and proliferation of hippocampal precursor cell in vivo.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: The present study investigated whether Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs) could reverse the effects of chronic mild stress (CMS) in a depression-like mouse model.

Materials And Methods: The effects of three Chinese herbals, Rhizome Chuanxiong, Radix Scutellaria and Radix Phellodendri on promoting neuroproliferation were evaluated in vitro first and followed by in vivo study of mice which were received by an experimental setting of CMS for 14 days. The effects of the three CHMs on depression were evaluated using a behavioral test, named a forced swimming test (FST).