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Wendan Decoction is a classical traditional Chinese medicine herbal formula historically used to address gastrointestinal and mood disorders associated with phlegm-dampness and spleen deficiency. In modern clinical practice, the formula is frequently adapted with additional herbs to suit individual patient presentations, producing what is termed modified Wendan Decoction. This systematic review and meta-analysis sought to determine whether combining modified Wendan Decoction with conventional antidepressant medicine improves outcomes in patients with depression.
Researchers searched seven major electronic databases, covering all records up to February 2025. Thirteen randomised controlled trials involving a total of 1,117 patients met the inclusion criteria. Pooling the data revealed a statistically significant advantage for the combined treatment group compared with conventional medicine alone, as measured by standardised depression rating scales. When studies judged to carry a high risk of bias were removed in a sensitivity analysis, the positive effect remained robust, albeit with moderate variation between studies. A subgroup analysis indicated that patients treated in southern regions of China experienced somewhat greater improvements than those in northern regions, though the researchers urge caution in interpreting this geographical difference and call for further high-quality trials to confirm it.
The authors acknowledge the considerable heterogeneity between included studies as a limitation that warrants careful consideration when applying these findings in practice.
Conclusion: This meta-analysis provides supportive evidence that adding modified Wendan Decoction to conventional medicine may meaningfully improve depression outcomes, though high-quality confirmatory trials are still needed.
Source: Chen X, Fan Z, Xu Y and colleagues. Journal of ethnopharmacology (2026). View on PubMed (PMID 41936834) · doi:10.1016/j.jep.2026.121638
