Department of Obstetrics, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, Programs in Biological Sciences and Human Genetics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2022 Mar 9;17(3):e0264987. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0264987. eCollection 2022.
Bryophyllum pinnatum (Lam.) Oken (BP) is a plant that is used worldwide to treat inflammation, infections, anxiety, restlessness, and sleep disorders. While it is known that BP leaves are rich in flavonoids, the extent of the beneficial and toxic effects of its crude extracts remains unclear. Although some neurobehavioral studies using leaf extracts have been conducted, none has examined the effects of water-extracted leaf samples. The zebrafish is a powerful animal model used to gain insights into the efficacy and toxicity profiles of this plant due to its high fecundity, external development, and ease of performing behavioral assays. In this study, we performed behavioral testing after acute exposure to different concentrations of aqueous extract from leaves of B. pinnatum (LABP) on larval zebrafish, investigating light/dark preference, thigmotaxis, and locomotor activity parameters under both normal and stressed conditions. LABP demonstrated dose-and time-dependent biphasic effects on larval behavior. Acute exposure (25 min) to 500 mg/L LABP resulted in decreased locomotor activity. Exposure to 300 mg/L LABP during the sleep cycle decreased dark avoidance and thigmotaxis while increasing swimming velocity. After sleep deprivation, the group treated with 100 mg/L LABP showed decreased dark avoidance and increased velocity. After a heating stressor, the 30 mg/L and 300 mg/L LABP-treated groups showed decreased dark avoidance. These results suggest both anxiolytic and psychoactive effects of LABP in a dose-dependent manner in a larval zebrafish model. These findings provide a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying relevant behavioral effects, consequently supporting the safe and effective use of LABP for the treatment of mood disorders.
珠芽景天（BP）是一种在世界范围内被用于治疗炎症、感染、焦虑、不安和睡眠障碍的植物。虽然已知 BP 叶片富含类黄酮，但它的粗提取物的有益和毒性作用的程度尚不清楚。虽然已经进行了一些使用叶提取物的神经行为学研究，但没有研究过水提叶片样品的影响。斑马鱼是一种强大的动物模型，由于其高繁殖力、外部发育和易于进行行为测定，可用于深入了解这种植物的功效和毒性特征。在这项研究中，我们在幼鱼斑马鱼上急性暴露于不同浓度的珠芽景天叶片水提取物（LABP）后进行了行为测试，研究了在正常和应激条件下光/暗偏好、触壁性和运动活性参数。LABP 对幼鱼行为表现出剂量和时间依赖性的双相作用。急性暴露（25 分钟）于 500mg/L 的 LBP 导致运动活性降低。在睡眠周期中暴露于 300mg/L 的 LBP 降低了暗回避和触壁性，同时增加了游泳速度。睡眠剥夺后，用 100mg/L 的 LBP 处理的组表现出暗回避减少和速度增加。在热应激后，用 30mg/L 和 300mg/L 的 LBP 处理的组表现出暗回避减少。这些结果表明，LABP 在幼鱼斑马鱼模型中以剂量依赖的方式表现出抗焦虑和精神活性作用。这些发现更好地理解了相关行为效应的机制，从而支持 LABP 的安全有效使用，以治疗情绪障碍。
