[Psychotropic effects of Sino-Japanese traditional medicines]

Recently there are a number of clinical reports that Sino-Japanese traditional medicines have good effects on patients with anxiety and/or depression. To detect the clinical efficacy of those medicines, we have examined those effects on various behavioral changes induced by stress in experimental animals. Although it appears to be possible to demonstrate a part of the psychotropic effects of the medicines, their action mechanisms are far from being understood. An improving effect of Shimotsu-to on the spatial cognitive deficits induced by scopolamine in eight radial maze might be due to that of paeony root and to its major principle, paeoniflorin. However, it appears that pharmacological effects of Shimotsu-to, a traditional medicine, cannot be explained by those of an active principle of paeony root, paeoniflorin.