Table 1.

The characteristics of the included trials.

References	sex ration(M/F)	Sample size(M/F)	Age (year)	Intervention and dose		Duration (months)	Main outcomes
		Experimental Control		Experimental Control
Feng and Zhang, 2008	0/78	42 36	24–52	TGP 0.6 g tid+MTX 10 mg qw	MTX 10 mg qw	9 months	Salivary flow rate, Schirmer's test, ESR, serum γ-globulin, AEs
He, 2010	0/48	26 22	28–57	TGP 600 mg tid+HCQ 200 mg bid	HCQ 200 mg bid	3 months	Salivary flow rate, Schirmer's test, ESR, IgG, IgM, IgA, serum γ-globulin, AEs
Cai, 2011	7/53	30 30	22–64	TGP 0.6 g qd+MTX 10 mg qw	MTX 10 mg qw	6 months	Effective rate, salivary flow rate, Schirmer's test, RF, ESR, CRP, serum γ-globulin, AEs
Yin, 2011	0/81	42 39	35–61	TGP 600 mg tid+HCQ 200 mg bid	HCQ 200 mg bid	3 months	Salivary flow rate, Schirmer's test, RF, ESR, IgG, AEs
Zhao and Zhao, 2013	3/55	30 28	28–67	TGP 0.6 g tid+HCQ 100 mg bid	HCQ 100 mg bid	6 months	Salivary flow rate, Schirmer's test, ESR, IgG, IgM, IgA, AEs
Liu and Deng, 2016	8/48	28 28	24–55	TGP 0.6 mg, bid~tid+MTX 5 mg~10 mg, qw~biw	MTX 5 mg~10 mg, qw~biw	6 months	Effective rate, salivary flow rate, Schirmer's test, RF, ESR, CRP, serum γ-globulin, AEs
You and Wang, 2015	N/A	15 15	27–67	TGP 0.6 g, bid~0.6 g, tid	PBO	6 months	ESSDAI, ESSPRI, Stimulated salivary flow rate, Schirmer's test, AEs
Zhou et al. (2016)	6/39	29 16	N/A	TGP 0.6 g, tid	PBO	6 months	Stimulated salivary flow rate, ESR,AEs
Liu et al. (2018)	13/301	211 103	18-75	TGP 0.6 g, bid~0.6 g, tid	PBO	6 months	ESSPRI, Schirmer's test, Stimulated salivary flow rate, ESR, AEs

TGP, the total glucosides of paeony; Placebo, PBO; MTX, methotrexate; HCQ, hydroxychloroquine; ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate; CRP, C-reactive protein; RF, rheumatoid factor; immunoglobulin (IgG, IgM, and IgA); AEs, adverse events