Tohoku J. Exp. Med., 2025 May, 266(1)

Review

Lipid-lowering effect of Danshen, Fufang Danshen, Shuxuening and Shuxuetong injections: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Controlled Clinical Trials

Youjin Zhang,¹ Jin Yang,² Qianyin Pang,³ Zhimin Lv,³ Dan Zhu,³ Yunhan Wang² and Yongyan Song¹

¹Central Laboratory, Clinical Medical College and Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu University, Chengdu, P.R. China
²Department of Urology Surgery, Clinical Medical College and Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu University, Chengdu, P.R. China
³Clinical Medical College of Chengdu University, Chengdu, P.R. China

Danshen, Fufang Danshen, Shuxuening and Shuxuetong injections, four traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions, have been widely explored regarding their lipid-lowering property, but the findings were inconsistent and inconclusive. This meta-analysis was to clarify the lipid-lowering effect of the four injections. PubMed, Scopus, Embase, Web of Science, Google Scholar, Cochrane Library and CNKI databases were searched, and data including age, sex, ethnicity, disease type, dose, duration, sample size and blood lipids were extracted from each eligible study. The alterations in lipids from pre- to post-treatment were calculated and compared between control and treatment groups, and standardized mean differences (SMDs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to assess the lipid-lowering effect of the injections. Twenty-eight studies (2,624 subjects), 31 studies (3,023 subjects), 17 studies (1,507 subjects) and 54 studies (4,435 subjects) were respectively identified for Danshen, Fufang Danshen, Shuxuening and Shuxuetong injections. All of the four injections could effectively and significantly reduce serum levels of triglycerides (p < 0.001 for all), total cholesterol (p < 0.001 for all) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (p < 0.001 for all), and elevate high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level (p ≤ 0.02 for all). Shuxuening injection had the strongest lipid-lowering effect with almost twice that of the other three injections. Danshen, Fufang Danshen and Shuxuening injections showed a good lipid-lowering effect on patients with heart disease, while Shuxuetong injection displayed a powerful lipid-lowering effect among diabetic patients. Unfortunately, all of these injections had a poor lipid-lowering effect in patients with renal disease. The meta-analysis demonstrates that Danshen, Fufang Danshen, Shuxuening and Shuxuetong injections all can effectively reduce blood lipids. Among them, Shuxuening injection has the strongest lipid-lowering effect with almost twice that of the other three injections. In terms of reducing blood lipid levels, Danshen, Fufang Danshen and Shuxuening injections are suitable for patients with cardiovascular disease, Shuxuetong injection is suitable for patients with diabetes, but none of them is suitable for patients with renal disease.

Key words —— Danshen; Fufang Danshen; lipid; injection; Shuxuening; Shuxuetong

© 2025 Tohoku University Medical Press

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Tohoku J. Exp. Med., 2025 May, 266(1), 47-58.

Correspondence: Yongyan Song, Central Laboratory, Clinical Medical College and Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu University, No. 82, North Section 2, Second Ring Road, Chengdu, Sichuan 610000, People’s Republic of China.

e-mail: songyongyan@cdu.edu.cn