Evaluation of the Safety and Efficacy of Xiao Yao San as a Treatment for Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Jin Lin; Yue Ji; Jinhua Si; Guanran Wang; Xinju Li; Li Shen

doi:10.1155/2022/1319592

Evaluation of the Safety and Efficacy of Xiao Yao San as a Treatment for Anxiety: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2022 Apr 6:2022:1319592. doi: 10.1155/2022/1319592. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Jin Lin^{1

2}, Yue Ji³, Jinhua Si⁴, Guanran Wang³, Xinju Li⁵, Li Shen^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, First Teaching Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin 300381, China.
² National Clinical Research Center for Chinese Medicine Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Tianjin 300381, China.
³ Graduate School, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, China.
⁴ Library, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, China.
⁵ Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin 301617, China.

Abstract

Objective: Xiaoyao San (XYS) is a medicinal preparation that is commonly employed in China for the treatment of anxiety disorders (AD). Despite suggestions that it may offer certain advantages in this context, there are no reliable evidence-based studies regarding its efficacy at present. The present study was developed to gauge the efficacy and safety of XYS for the treatment of AD in a systematic manner.

Methods: PubMed, the Cochrane Library, EMBASE, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang database, Weipu database, and China Biomedical Documentation Service System (CBM) databases were systematically searched for all randomized control trials (RCTs) evaluating the use of XYS for the treatment of AD published as of November 2021. Two investigators independently screened all studies, extracted data, and assessed the risk of bias for included studies using RevMan5.3.

Results: In total, 9 RCTs incorporating 809 patients were included in the present meta-analysis, of which 3 compared oral XYS to anxiolytic treatment and 6 compared oral XYS + anxiolytics to anxiolytic treatment alone. The resultant meta-analysis revealed that XYS alone or in combination with anxiolytic treatment was associated with better improvements in anxiety-related symptoms and reduced adverse drug-related reactions as compared to anxiolytic treatment alone.

Conclusion: The available evidence suggests that oral XYS alone or in combination with anxiolytic agents is more effective and safer than anxiolytic treatment alone when used for the treatment of AD. However, owing to the limited number and quality of the studies included in this analysis, further high-quality research will be essential to validate these results.