Joung Jae Yeon, Song Jae Gwang, Kim Hyung Wook, Oh Nam Su
Department of Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Korea.
Department of Bio-integrated Science and Technology, College of Life Sciences, Sejong University, Seoul 05006, Korea.
J Agric Food Chem. 2021 Feb 17;69(6):1936-1941. doi: 10.1021/acs.jafc.0c07292. Epub 2021 Jan 26.
Chronic stress is a major cause of mental health problems and primary medical issues. Milk has been studied for its stress-reducing effects. Tryptophan, which is abundant in milk, is a precursor of the neuroactive compounds serotonin and melatonin. This study investigated the preventive effects of milk casein on brain dysfunction and anxiety-like behavior induced by chronic stress. Mice were exposed to unpredictable chronic mild stress (UCMS) and milk casein was administered for 10 weeks. Milk casein significantly reduced stress-induced changes in serum corticosterone and serotonin levels. The negative effects of UCMS on the expression of proteins associated with neuroendocrine function, neurodegeneration, neuronal inflammation, and barrier function of the blood-brain barrier were statistically normalized by casein treatment. Pretreatment with casein significantly prevented anxiety-like behavior induced by UCMS. These results suggest that milk casein has the potential to prevent stress-induced brain dysfunction and anxiety-like behavior.
慢性应激是心理健康问题和主要医学问题的主要原因。牛奶因其减轻应激的作用而受到研究。牛奶中富含的色氨酸是神经活性化合物血清素和褪黑素的前体。本研究调查了牛奶酪蛋白对慢性应激诱导的脑功能障碍和焦虑样行为的预防作用。将小鼠暴露于不可预测的慢性轻度应激（UCMS）中，并给予牛奶酪蛋白10周。牛奶酪蛋白显著降低了应激诱导的血清皮质酮和血清素水平的变化。酪蛋白处理在统计学上使UCMS对与神经内分泌功能、神经退行性变、神经元炎症和血脑屏障屏障功能相关的蛋白质表达的负面影响正常化。酪蛋白预处理显著预防了UCMS诱导的焦虑样行为。这些结果表明，牛奶酪蛋白有预防应激诱导的脑功能障碍和焦虑样行为的潜力。
