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Stroke is a leading cause of disability in human diseases.Although endogenous adult neurogenesis could generate new functional neurons for repairing the damaged brain regions experimentally,current therapies targeting adult neurogenesis to improve the recovery of neurological deficits in post-stroke victims are seldom successful.In China,traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been used for the treatment of post-stroke disability for centuries.TCM provides a huge amount of unique compounds and their combinations.The combination of TCM and stem cell biology will provide great potentials for drug discovery.In this study,we reviewed current progress in the studies of herbal medicine for promoting neurogenesis.By using multidiscipline approaches,we conducted a series of experiments to evaluate the therapeutic effects of a classic TCM formula for promoting neurogenesis and neurological function recovery by using an experimental stroke model.Both in vitro cultured neural stem cells and in vivo middle cerebral artery occlusion rat model were used in the study.The experiments revealed that the formula significantly promoted the proliferation and differentiation of neural stem cells in the ischemic brains and improved the recovery of the neurological functions.The formula regulated many growth factors and cellular signaling including vascular endothelial growth factor,epidermal growth factor receptor,Wnt/p-catenin pathway,notcM,PI3K/Akt and ERK signal pathway.Furthermore,we identified the active compounds and fractions with the functions of promoting the proliferation and differentiations of neural stem cells and explored their molecular targets.In conclusion,Chinese herbal medicine could be an important source for drug discovery to promoting neurogenesis in the treatment of stroke.