Suanzaoren Tang Treats Insomnia by Affecting Brain， Heart， and Liver Functions： A Review / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ABSTRACT

Sleep has been widely concerned by the medical field all over the world. Sleep deprivation can cause damage to organs of the human body， which is related to the occurrence of a variety of diseases. Besides， the pathological change in different organs of the human body is also a key factor that causes or aggravates insomnia. When treating insomnia and its complications， traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） focuses on the homology of the brain and heart， and insomnia is mainly treated from the five internal organs， especially the heart and liver. Sleep duration and structure change with age. The prevalence of insomnia is higher in older individuals susceptible to complications than in the younger population. In TCM， insomnia of blood deficiency and Yin deficiency is common among the elderly. Suanzaoren Tang is a classic prescription for nourishing blood and calming the mind and it is critical in the treatment of "sleeplessness due to consumptive disease and dysphoria"， with the effects of nourishing liver blood to calm the mind and clearing internal heat to relieve dysphoria. It has good efficacy on the insomnia of the elderly caused by deficiency of Qi and blood and abnormal operation of nutrient Qi and defense Qi. Furthermore， it also shows a certain therapeutic effect on insomnia combined with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. The present study revealed the damage to the brain， heart， and liver caused by sleep deprivation and the effect of Suanzaoren Tang on the brain， heart， and liver， and clarified the facts that Suanzaoren Tang inhibited the damage to organs caused by sleep deprivation and regulated energy metabolism， thereby exploring the sedative and hypnotic mechanism of Suanzaoren Tang to provide new ideas for Suanzaoren Tang in the treatment of sleep disorders and other diseases.