Abstract: The pathological mechanism for depression is complicated due to the involvement of types of transcriptional factors and signaling pathways in the occurrence and development of depression. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) characterized with multi-components and multi-targets exert unique advantage in the prevention and treatment of depression. This review summarized the pharmacological action of TCM and active components on transcriptional factors (CREB, NF-κB, Nrf2) and signaling pathways (BDNF-TrkB, MAPK, GSK-3β, TLR-4-NLRP3-IL-1β) as well as elucidated the clinical application of TCM formula in the prevention and treatment for depression based on relevant literatures from home and abroad.

Key words: Traditional Chinese medicine, depression, transcriptional factor, signaling pathway, action target