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Updated: Jan 2, 2026

Meta-Analysis of the Effectiveness and Safety of Shugan Jieyu Capsules for the Treatment of Insomnia
Published on: February 17, 2023
Shuangxia decoction alleviates p-chlorophenylalanine induced insomnia through the modification of serotonergic and
Yujie Sun1, Na Zhang1, Yuxia Qu1
1School of Chinese Material Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, The Yangguang South Street and Baiyang East Road, Fangshan district, Beijing, 102488, China.
Abstract:
As a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Shuangxia Decoction (SXD) has been used to treat insomnia in oriental countries for more than thousands of years and it presents remarkable clinical effects. However, its active pharmacological fraction and the mechanism of sedative-hypnotic effects have not been explored. In this paper, we investigated active pharmacological fraction and revealed the detailed mechanisms underlying the sedative-hypnotic effects of SXD. It showed that SXD water extract compared to ethanol extract possessed better sedative effects on locomotion activity in normal mice and increased sleep duration in subhypnotic dose of sodium pentobarbital-treated mice. SXD alleviated p-chlorophenylalanine (PCPA) -induced insomnia by increasing the content of 5-HT in cortex [F (4, 55) = 12.67], decreasing the content of dopamine (DA) and norepinephrine (NE). Furthermore, SXD enhanced the expression of 5-HT1A and 5-HT2A receptors in hypothalamic and reduced serum levels of IL-1,TNF-α [F (5, 36) = 15.58]. In conclusion, these results indicated that SXD produced beneficial sedative and hypnotic bioactivities mediated by regulating the serotonergic and immune system.
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