Efficacy and safety of Banxia-Houpo-Tang (Banha-Hubak-Tang) for depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Elsevier

Available online 18 May 2023, 101769

Complementary Therapies in Clinical PracticeAuthor links open overlay panel, , Highlights•

Banxia-Houpo-Tang either as a monotherapy or as an adjuvant therapy to antidepressants, may be beneficial for treating depression.

Banxia-Houpo-Tang monotherapy exhibited a lower rate of adverse events than that of antidepressants; however, there were no differences between the combination therapy and antidepressant monotherapy.

Banxia-Houpo-Tang can be suggested as a safe complementary and supplementary therapy to antidepressants for managing depression with concomitant diseases or conditions.

Due to the clinical heterogeneity and low methodological quality of the included studies, the obtained findings should be interpreted with caution.

AbstractBackground

and purpose: Banxia-Houpo-Tang (Banha-Hubak-Tang, BHT) is an East Asian traditional herbal medicine used for treating depression. Hence, this review aimed to provide reliable evidence on the efficacy and safety of BHT for depression.

Methods

Overall, 15 electronic databases were searched until July 31, 2022, and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of BHT for depression were reviewed. The cochrane risk of bias tool version 2.0 was used for quality assessment. A meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the efficacy and safety of BHT for depression.

Results

Fifteen RCTs (1,714 participants) were included. The pooled results suggested that the efficacy of BHT alone (standardized mean difference [SMD], −0.39; 95% confidence interval [CI], −0.79 to 0.00; P = 0.05) was similar to that of antidepressants alone in terms of the Hamilton depression scale (HAMD) scores. Their combination led to a more significant improvement in HAMD scores (SMD, −0.91; 95% CI, −1.21 to 0.60; P < 0.00001). Moreover, compared with antidepressants alone, BHT alone had a lower risk of causing adverse events, but the combination therapy exhibited a similar risk. No severe adverse events were reported. The overall risk of bias was high. The quality of evidence was very low to moderate.

Conclusion

The study results indicate that BHT may be beneficial for treating depression. However, due to the clinical heterogeneity and low methodological quality of the included studies, the obtained findings should be interpreted with caution. Hence, further studies on this topic are warranted.

Keywords

Banxia-Houpo-Tang

Depression

Herbal medicine

Meta-analysis

Systematic review

© 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

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