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World J Psychiatry. Apr 19, 2026; 16(4): 115960
Published online Apr 19, 2026. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v16.i4.115960
Published online Apr 19, 2026. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v16.i4.115960
Yueju pill regulates the mechanism of SIRT1/FoxO3a-mediated autophagy pathway against depression
Li-Li Gao, An-Wen Huang, Da He, Jia-Zhen Tong, Wei-Feng Hong, Xu-Jie Zhuang, Xin-Ming Wu, Yang-Hui Zhou, Min Lin, Department of Neurology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Traditional Chinese Medical University, Fuzhou 350003, Fujian Province, China
Co-corresponding authors: Li-Li Gao and Min Lin.
Author contributions: Gao LL and Lin M contribute equally to this study as co- corresponding authors; Gao LL and Lin M were responsible for conceptualization, methodology, writing, review, editing, and data curation; all authors were responsible for investigation and experiment; all authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by the Fujian Research and Training Grants for Young and Middle-aged Leaders in Healthcare (Minweirenhan 2023), No. 26; the Medical Innovation Project of Fujian Provincial Health Commission, No. 2022CXA052; the Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine Major Scientific and Technological Innovation “Open Competition Mechanism to Select the Best Candidates” Special Project, No. XJB2022003-3; and the Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province, No. 2024J01733.
Institutional animal care and use committee statement: The protocol for animal experiment was approved by the Ethical Committee of Fujian Anburui Biotechnology Co., Ltd (Approval No. IACUC FJABR 20240701101).
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
ARRIVE guidelines statement: The authors have read the ARRIVE guidelines, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the ARRIVE guidelines.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Corresponding author: Li-Li Gao, PhD, Department of Neurology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Traditional Chinese Medical University, No. 282 Wusi Road, Fuzhou 350003, Fujian Province, China. gaolili2025@yeah.net
Received: November 18, 2025
Revised: December 21, 2025
Accepted: January 9, 2026
Published online: April 19, 2026
Processing time: 131 Days and 19.1 Hours
Revised: December 21, 2025
Accepted: January 9, 2026
Published online: April 19, 2026
Processing time: 131 Days and 19.1 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Depression is a mental disorder primarily characterized by low mood, with a gradually increasing incidence in modern society. The exploration of antidepressants derived from traditional Chinese medicinal substances has therefore become a research hotspot. Although previous studies indicate that Yueju pill is effective in treating mood disorder-related syndromes, its potential antidepressant mechanism via regulation of the SIRT1/FoxO3a-mediated autophagy pathway has not been reported. Therefore, this study employed a chronic unpredictable mild stress rat model and investigated the antidepressant mechanism of Yueju pill through targeted pathway intervention.