Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, Public Health College, Harbin Medical University, 194 Xuefu Road, Harbin, 150081, Heilongjiang, China.
Biometals. 2021 Jun;34(3):589-602. doi: 10.1007/s10534-021-00298-w. Epub 2021 Mar 20.
Depression is a common and serious psychiatric disorder, but current conventional antidepressants have limited efficacy and significant side effects. Thus, better antidepressants are urgently needed. This study aimed to investigate the antidepressant-like effects and potential mechanism of quercetin by evaluating the changes of serum elements in chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) rats. Based on the results of the sucrose preference test (SPT), 96 rats were randomly assigned to six groups: control, different dosages of quercetin (10 and 50 mg/kg·bw, respectively), depressed, and different dosages quercetin plus depressed groups. After 8 weeks of CUMS modeling, rat serum was collected. Fifteen elements in serum were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), and related enzyme indicators, antioxidant indicators, and inflammatory cytokines were detected to further explore the potential mechanism. Besides, the accuracy and precision of the method were evaluated. The results showed that the levels of iron (Fe), copper (Cu), and calcium (Ca) in serum significantly increased (p ≤ 0.001), while the levels of magnesium (Mg), zinc (Zn), selenium (Se), and cobalt (Co) significantly decreased (p ≤ 0.001) in depressed group compared with the control group. The levels of the remaining eight elements did not change significantly. When high-dose quercetin was administered to depressed rats, the levels of the above seven elements significantly restored (p ≤ 0.001). This study suggests that quercetin (50 mg/kg·bw) has a regulatory effect on serum elements in CUMS rats, which may be mediated by reducing oxidative stress, inhibiting inflammation, and regulating a variety of neurotransmitter systems.
抑郁症是一种常见且严重的精神疾病，但目前的常规抗抑郁药疗效有限，且存在显著的副作用。因此，迫切需要更好的抗抑郁药。本研究旨在通过评估慢性不可预测轻度应激（CUMS）大鼠血清元素的变化，研究槲皮素的抗抑郁样作用及其潜在机制。基于蔗糖偏好测试（SPT）的结果，96 只大鼠被随机分为六组：对照组、不同剂量槲皮素（分别为 10 和 50mg/kg·bw）、抑郁组和不同剂量槲皮素加抑郁组。经过 8 周的 CUMS 造模后，收集大鼠血清。采用电感耦合等离子体质谱法（ICP-MS）分析血清中的 15 种元素，并检测相关酶指标、抗氧化指标和炎性细胞因子，以进一步探讨其潜在机制。此外，还评估了该方法的准确性和精密度。结果表明，与对照组相比，抑郁组大鼠血清中铁（Fe）、铜（Cu）和钙（Ca）水平显著升高（p≤0.001），而镁（Mg）、锌（Zn）、硒（Se）和钴（Co）水平显著降低（p≤0.001）。其余 8 种元素的水平没有明显变化。当给抑郁大鼠高剂量槲皮素时，上述 7 种元素的水平显著恢复（p≤0.001）。本研究表明，槲皮素（50mg/kg·bw）对 CUMS 大鼠血清元素具有调节作用，其机制可能是通过降低氧化应激、抑制炎症和调节多种神经递质系统来实现的。
