ABSTRACT
Ziziphi Spinosae Semen (ZSS) is the first choice for traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of insomnia. The saponins are the main active ingredient of ZSS. At present, 51 kinds of saponin components have been obtained from ZSS, which are mainly classified into tetracyclic triterpenes and pentacyclic triterpenoid saponins according to the aglycon structure. With the deep research on the saponins from ZSS, it has been found that it has a wide range of pharmacological effects, such as calming, anti-anxiety, anti-depression, anti-tumor, and myocardial protection. In view of the increasingly serious harm to human health caused by nervous system diseases and the important role of ZSS in the prevention and treatment of nervous system diseases, this study focused on systematically summarizing the structural types of ZSS saponins and the pharmacological effects in the nervous system to provide a scientific reference for the development and utilization of ZSS saponins.