抑郁症是一种常见的精神类疾病，发病率高、致死率高，严重影响人类身体健康。柴胡具有疏肝解郁之功效，临床上多用其复方制剂治疗抑郁症。近年来发现，柴胡中的柴胡皂苷a具有潜在的抗抑郁作用，能通过调节炎症因子及相关通路，增强神经营养因子表达，改善神经递质水平及神经元细胞凋亡，下调下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺（HPA）轴功能发挥抗抑郁作用。主要对柴胡皂苷a的抗抑郁作用机制进行综述，便于为药物研发和抑郁症的研究提供思路。

Depression is a common mental disease with high morbidity and mortality, which seriously affects human health. Bupleurum has the effect of soothing the liver and relieving depression, and treating depression with its compound preparation in clinic. In recent years, it has been found that saikosaponin a in Bupleurum has a potential antidepressant effect, which can enhance the expression of neurotrophic factors, improve the level of neurotransmitters and neuronal apoptosis by regulating inflammatory factors and related pathways and down-regulation of hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis function. In this paper, the antidepressant mechanism of saikosaponin a is reviewed, in order to provide ideas for drug development and depression research.

哈尔滨医科大学大庆校区校内科研基金资助项目（2018XN-23）