Abstract: Emotional disorders represent a category of psychological conditions primarily defined by abnormal mood states, which include depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and related syndromes. Their pathogenesis is multifactorial and complex, involving disturbances in neurotransmitter systems, neuroendocrine dysfunction, and abnormalities in inflammatory and immune responses. Recently, there has been accumulating evidence that various bioactive components derived from natural products can exert beneficial effects in the prevention and alleviation of emotional disorders. This article summarizes the potential pathogenic mechanisms underlying emotional disorders, focusing on neurotransmitter imbalance, neuroinflammation, and dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Additionally, it emphasizes the effects of natural bioactive compounds on modulating and preventing mood disorders, aiming to provide a reference for the development of novel emotion-regulating health products.

Key words: functional factors of natural products; emotional disorders; health effects; mechanism of action