A major type of serious mood disorder, depression is currently a widespread and easily overlooked psychological illness. With the low side effects of natural products in the treatment of diseases becoming the pursuit of new antidepressants, natural Chinese medicine products have been paid more and more attention for their unique efficacy in improving depression. In a view from the current study, the positive antidepressant effects of berberine are encouraging. There is a lot of work that needs to be done to accurately elucidate the efficacy and mechanism of berberine in depression. In this review, the relevant literature reports on the treatment of depression and anxiety by berberine are updated, and the potential pharmacological mechanism of berberine in relieving depression has also been discussed.

抑郁症是严重情绪障碍的主要类型，目前是一种普遍且容易被忽视的心理疾病。随着天然产物治疗疾病的低副作用成为新型抗抑郁药的追求，天然中药制品以其独特的改善抑郁症疗效越来越受到人们的关注。从目前的研究来看，黄连素的积极抗抑郁作用令人鼓舞。要准确阐明黄连素在抑郁症中的疗效和作用机制，还有很多工作要做。本综述更新了黄连素治疗抑郁和焦虑的相关文献报道，并对黄连素缓解抑郁症的潜在药理机制进行了探讨。