Neuroscience Research Center, Institute of Medicine and Health, Hebei Medical University.
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, College of Basic Medicine, Hebei Medical University.
Biol Pharm Bull. 2019;42(8):1268-1274. doi: 10.1248/bpb.b18-00882.
Increasing evidence shows depression relevant to oxidative stress and inflammation. Anti-inflammatory strategies or antioxidants have led to the development of new antidepressants. Brazilin is a natural product from the Chinese traditional medicine Caesalpinia sappan L., exerting anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-platelet concentration, and anti-cancer effects. While the antidepressant effect of brazilin is largely unknown. In present study, we investigated the effects of brazilin on HO-induced oxidative injury in PC12 cells and on depression- and anxiety-like behaviors of chronically mild stressed (CMS)-induced depression mice. It was found that brazilin pre-treatment (both 10 and 20 µM) significantly increased cell viability and decreased cell apoptosis in HO-treated PC12 cells. Furthermore, repetitive administration of brazilin to CMS-induced depression mice by intraperitoneal injection (10 mg/kg) made the mice significantly lose their latency of feeding in novelty-suppressed feeding test (NSF), have more the sucrose preference in sucrose preference test (SPT), and more time spent in the central zone without affecting their crossing activity in open field test (OFT). These results suggested that brazilin can play a role in antidepressant and anxiolytic-like behaviors for CMS-induced depression mice probably through inhibiting the oxidative stress. Therefore, brazilin is worth to be further explored for treating depressive and anxiety disorders.
越来越多的证据表明，抑郁与氧化应激和炎症有关。抗炎策略或抗氧化剂已经导致了新的抗抑郁药物的发展。巴西苏木素是一种来自中国传统药物苏木的天然产物，具有抗炎、抗氧化、抗血小板聚集和抗癌作用。而巴西苏木素的抗抑郁作用在很大程度上尚不清楚。在本研究中，我们研究了巴西苏木素对 HO 诱导的 PC12 细胞氧化损伤以及慢性轻度应激（CMS）诱导的抑郁小鼠的抑郁和焦虑样行为的影响。结果发现，巴西苏木素预处理（10 和 20 μM）显著增加了 HO 处理的 PC12 细胞中的细胞活力并降低了细胞凋亡。此外，腹腔注射巴西苏木素（10 mg/kg）对 CMS 诱导的抑郁小鼠进行重复给药，使小鼠在新异食物抑制摄食试验（NSF）中明显减少摄食潜伏期，在蔗糖偏好试验（SPT）中更偏好蔗糖，并且在中央区域停留的时间更长，而不会影响其在旷场试验（OFT）中的穿越活动。这些结果表明，巴西苏木素可能通过抑制氧化应激在 CMS 诱导的抑郁小鼠中发挥抗抑郁和抗焦虑样作用。因此，巴西苏木素值得进一步探索用于治疗抑郁和焦虑障碍。
