Depression is a kind of complex mental illness， which is mainly treated by western medicine at present， but the effect of western antidepressant drugs is not good due to the combined influence of side effects and individual differences of patients. Depression is a "stagnation syndrome" in traditional Chinese medicine， and its treatment principle is to disperse stagnated liver Qi for relieving Qi stagnation. The classic traditional Chinese medicine formula Chaihu Shugansan （CHSGS） has a long history of treating depression and demonstrates significant therapeutic efficacy. Clinically， the addition and subtraction of CHSGS is flexible， but the properties of the active ingredients are vague， and the mechanism and function are unclear. In order to elucidate the pharmacodynamic basis and antidepressant mechanism of CHSGS， this article reviews the pharmacodynamic material basis of CHSGS， clinical research and antidepressant mechanism research progress. Clinically， CHSGS can treat various types of depression such as primary depression， post-stroke depression， and postpartum depression. This article summarizes 32 main ingredients of CHSGS， among which albiflorin， ferulic acid， naringin， hesperidin， saikosaponin a， glycyrrhetinic acid， tangeretin， meranzin hydrate， nobiletin and glycyrrhizic acid are the quality markers （Q-markers） for the antidepressant effect of CHSGS. The antidepressant mechanism of CHSGS is complex， including regulating monoamine neurotransmitters， hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal （HPA） axis， neurotrophic factors， inflammatory response， cell damage-related pathways， oxidative stress， etc. This article helps to deeply understand the pharmacodynamic basis and mechanism of CHSGS in treating depression， and provides a theoretical basis for the clinical application of CHSGS in treating depression and the development of antidepressant drugs.

Stroke is the main cause of death and disability among adults in China and is characterized by high incidence， disability， mortality， and recurrence rates. The combination of traditional Chinese and Western medicine has great potential in treating stroke and its sequelae. The classic traditional Chinese medicine prescription Da Chengqitang （DCQT） has a long history and proven efficacy in treating stroke. Clinically， DCQT is often used to treat stroke and its sequelae. However， the number and quality of clinical trials of DCQT in treating stroke need to be improved. Because of the insufficient basic research， the active ingredients and multi-target mechanism of action of DCQT remain unclear. Our research group has previously confirmed that DCQT can effectively reverse neurological damage， reduce iron deposition， and downregulate the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the rat model of hemorrhagic stroke. The treatment mechanism is related to the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 （Nrf2）-mediated signaling pathway and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase （MAPK） signaling-mediated microglia activation. To clarify the pharmacodynamic basis and anti-stroke mechanism of DCQT， this article reviews the research progress in the treatment of stroke with DCQT in terms of clinical trials， pharmacodynamic material basis， safety evaluation， and mechanisms of absorbed components. This article summarizes 45 major phytochemical components of DCQT， 11 of which are currently confirmed absorbed components. Among them， emodin， rhein， chrysophanol， aloe-emodin， synephrine， hesperidin， naringin， magnolol， and honokiol can be used as quality markers （Q-markers） of DCQT. The mechanism of DCQT in treating stroke is complex， involving regulation of inflammatory responses， neuronal damage， oxidative stress， blood-brain barrier， brain-derived neurotrophic factor， and anti-platelet aggregation. This article helps to deeply understand the pharmacodynamic basis and mechanism of DCQT in treating stroke and provides a theoretical basis for the clinical application of DCQT in treating stroke and the development of stroke drugs.