Research Progress of Mongolian Medicine Zadi-5 Pills in the Treatment of Depression

Aruhan, Shuangmei, Duola, Weiwei LI

1. Inner Mongolia Medical University, Hohhot 010000, China; 2. Inner Mongolia International Mongolian Hospital, Hohhot 010010, China; 3. Department of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine of Peking University First Hospital, Beijing 100034, China

Abstract By consulting the clinical research literature of Mongolian medicine Zadi-5 pills in the treatment of depression in recent years, the specific mechanism of Mongolian medicine Zadi-5 pills in the treatment of depression is further explained, and the research progress of Mongolian medicine Zadi-5 pills in the treatment of depression is summarized and the application prospect is analyzed.

Key words Mongolian medicine Zadi-5 pills, Depression, Treatment

1 Introduction

Depression is a mood disorder, and clinically depression can be seen, with sullenness, reduced activity. Those with serious illness will have hallucinations, delusions and other symptoms, and there are even self-injury, suicide and other behaviors. In today’s society, depression is seriously harmful to human health, which has become a problem that the medical profession attaches great importance to. Although there is no record of the name depression in the classical literature of Mongolian medicine, it is closely related to the human "Heyi" and heart from the analysis of etiology, onset and typical clinical symptoms[1]. Therefore, Mongolian medicine believes that the treatment of depression is mainly based on suppressing Heyi, regulating San’gen, dredging Heyi, Baimai and blood flow channel as the principle, and choose the drug with warm effect for treatment[2]. Mongolian medicine Zadi-5 pill is a common medicine used in Mongolian medicine to treat "Heyi" heart disease, upset and insomnia, chest tightness, shortness of breath and angina pectoris, especially effective for "Heyi" disease. Clinically, it is mainly used for the treatment of anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, insomnia and other diseases. In recent years, more and more clinical practice and animal experiments have confirmed that Mongolian medicine Zadi-5 pill is an effective and ideal Mongolian medicine for the treatment of depression. This paper summarizes the pharmacological effects and clinical application of Mongolian medicine Zadi-5 pills, and further discusses the clinical application of Mongolian medicine Zadi-5 in depression.

2 Understanding of depression in Mongolian medicine

Mongolian medicine has a history of more than 2 000 years. It is a traditional medical science created by the Mongolian people in their long-term struggle against diseases, and it has a unique law of logical thinking and a complete theoretical system. Mongolian medicine does not have the name of depression, but from the typical clinical symptoms of depression, it falls within the category of "Heyi heart disease" of Mongolian medicine. According to the theory of Mongolian medicine, there is the most close relationship between heart and spirit or emotions. According to the records inGanLuSiBu, due to excessive sadness and anxiety, the essence stored in the heart is reduced, and the physiological function dominated by the heart is abnormal, resulting in the abnormality of spirit and thinking activities[3]. Common depression is manifested as lethargy, slow thinking, low resilience and so on. Therefore, the disease of depression lies in the heart. Most patients with depression are due to long-term mental fatigue and difficulty in falling asleep or insomnia, and there is too much Heyi in the body, which struggles with Badagan and Xila in the body, resulting in functional disorders and affecting normal thinking activities. Therefore, the depression often damages the brain, Baimai and other diseases contributing to Heyi in the heart[4]. Clinically, there are many symptoms, such as low spirits, loss of interest and pleasure, increased fatigue and reduced activity, insomnia or excessive sleep, decreased appetite or physical quality.

3 Advances in pharmacological research of Zadi-5 pills

Mongolian medicine Zadi-5 pills, also known as Roukou wuwei pills, comes from the classic work of Mongolian medicine prescription science—CollectionofMongolianMedicinePrescriptions. It is recorded inDrugStandardoftheMinistryofHealthofthePeople’sRepublicofChina(MongolianMedicine)[5]. Mongolian medicine Zadi is warm in nature, often used in Heyi heart disease. So far, there are many reports on Mongolian medicine Zadi-5 pills, and the pharmacological studies are mainly based on each single drug. Its main ingredients arePiperlongum, jujube, Radix Aucklandiae, elecampane, nutmeg.P.longumcan dilate the coronary artery and improve the pituitrin-induced myocardial ischemia. Jujube has the functions of invigorating qi and activating blood circulation, nourishing the heart and calming the mind, resisting myocardial ischemia and protecting cardiac function. It is often used for qi stagnation and blood stasis, chest pain, palpitation and shortness of breath. Radix Aucklandiae has the effects of diuresis and promoting fibrinolysis. Nutmeg has the effects of warming spleen and stomach for dispelling cold, digesting food and solidifying intestines, treating heart and abdominal distending pain,etc[6]. Elecampane has the advantages of sterilization, deworming, lowering blood sugar, and has a certain curative effect on cardiovascular system[7]. The pharmacological studies of these single drugs have further confirmed the efficacy of Zadi-5 pills, and indirectly verified the scientificity and practicability of the compatibility law of compound preparations of ancient Mongolian medicine scholars with modern science and technology.

4 Clinical application of Zadi-5 pills

Fan Linnaetal.[8]performed the clinical trial of using Mongolian medicine Zadi-5 pills in the treatment of post-stroke depression. The control group was treated with Western medicine (commonly used drugs for cerebrovascular diseases and orally taking fluoxetine capsules). The treatment group was treated with Mongolian medicine Zadi-5 pills on the basis of orally taking fluoxetine capsule. Two weeks later, the curative effect of the two groups was observed, and it was found that the total effective rate of the treatment group was as high as 90.38%, while the total effective rate of the control group was 73.08%, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). Thus it can be seen that this kind of combined treatment can effectively reduce the symptoms and improve the clinical curative effect, and plays an important role in improving the patient’s condition. In the clinical trial of treating patients with post-stroke depression using Mongolian medicine Zadi-5 pills and Xiaoyaosan combined with psychotherapy, Liu Yaodongetal.[9]asked the patients to stop taking other antidepressants for more than 2 weeks, and then take Mongolian medicine Zadi-5 pills 1-3 times a day, 9-15 pills each time, with warm boiled water. In the results of the trial, all the 20 patients were cured and there was no recurrence in the follow-up visit. Treatment study found that Zadi-5 pills can significantly improve the symptoms of patients with post-stroke depression, such as palpitation, chest distension, dizziness and insomnia, restlessness, and irritability. Through these clinical trials, it can be found that Mongolian medicine Zadi-5 pill is an effective and ideal Mongolian medicine for the treatment of depression, which is worthy of further clinical application.

5 Experimental study on Zadi-5 pills

Hurilebagenetal.[10-12]studied the antidepressant effect of Mongolian medicine Zadi-5 pills in many aspects. Through the mouse depression model induced by tail suspension test and forced swimming test, it was found that Zadi-5 pill could significantly shorten the immobility time of desperate mice induced by acute stress. The experimental results showed that Zadi-5 pills had obvious antidepressant effect, which was consistent with the clinical effect. In the experiment of observing the effects of Zadi-5 pills on the behavior and learning and memory ability of depression model rats, the depression rat model induced by chronic unpredictable stimulation combined with solitary condition was used to highly simulate the symptoms of depression. The drugs were randomly given to different groups. The results showed that the effects of Zadi-5 pills in high and medium dose groups were obvious. Through the experimental study on the effect of Mongolian medicine Zadi-5 pills on monoamine transmitters in hippocampus and prefrontal cortex of rats, it was concluded that the antidepressant mechanism of Zadi-5 pills might function by increasing the content of serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine in the brain.

6 Conclusions

In recent years, the research reports of Mongolian medicine Zadi-5 pills in the treatment of depression are increasing year by year. The clinical application value of Mongolian medicine Zadi-5 pill is obtained through the pharmacological study, clinical trial and animal experiment. Mongolian medicine Zadi-5 pill is particularly effective in the treatment of depression, regulating Sangen of the body and viscera function, reducing boredom, fundamentally combating depression, and it has the characteristics of small side effects and so on. However, based on this study, there is still a lack of clinical research on the treatment of depression with Mongolian medicine Zadi-5 pills, which needs to be studied in depth in the future clinical work. It is believed that with the continuous maturity of the research technology and the increasing attention to Mongolian medicine, the clinical application of Mongolian medicine Zadi-5 will be further studied. Using a large sample size for clinical research, the Mongolian medicine Zadi-5 pills were effectively combined with Western medicine to treat depression in order to observe the clinical effect, and provide new ideas, new ways for the clinical treatment of depression in the future, so that the Mongolian medicine Zadi-5 pills can play a greater clinical effect.