RESUMEN
Migraine is a common neurovascular disorder manifested by recurrent severe headaches on one or both sides， occasionally accompanied by nausea， vomiting， photophobia， and phonophobia. It has the characteristics of recurrent attacks and family inheritance. Traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） believes that migraine belongs to the category of "head wind"， which is mostly caused by external wind and is related to the internal stirring of liver wind. Sanpiantang comes from the Record of Syndorme Differentiation·Headache （Bianzhenglu·Toutongmen） created by the physician CHEN Shiduo of the Qing Dynasty. It is composed of Chuanxiong Rhizoma， Angelicae Dahuricae Radix， Pruni Semen， Cyperi Rhizoma， Bupleuri Radix， White Mustard Seed， and Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma， with the functions of moving Qi to release pain， activating blood and resolving stasis， which is commonly used for the treatment of migraine in clinic. Current clinical studies on the application of Sanpiantang to the treatment of migraine mostly used modified Sanpiantang， either alone or in combination with western medicine/acupuncture. The results of these clinical trials showed that Sanpiantang could significantly lower migraine score， pain visual analog scale and endothelin level， reduce the frequency of painkiller use， and remarkably alleviate migraine symptoms， with few side effects. The animal experiments focused on exploring the mechanism of action of modified Sanpiantang from different anatomical levels of migraine， which mainly included reducing nitric oxide （NO） and nitric oxide synthase （NOS）， reduceing the release of neurotransmitters such as 5 -hydroxyline (5-HT) and neurotipides (NPY)， suppressing neuronal excitation， and blocking the transmission of nociceptive pathways， thereby promoting cerebral blood flow， regulating neurotransmitters and preventing migraine. Based on the pathogenesis of migraine， this paper systematically reviewed the latest progress in clinical application and experimental research of modified Sanpiantang， and summarized its mechanism of action of preventing and treating migraine， which provided new ideas for clinical treatment of migraine.