Cui Luming, Zhang Qian, Zhang Yifan, Li Tingjie, Li Menghan, Yuan Jinye, Wu Zhiyi, Zhang Yue, Kong Hui, Qu Huihua, Zhao Yan
School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China.
Qingdao Zhonghengneng Environmental Science Engineering Research Institute Co., Ltd, Qingdao, China.
Front Mol Biosci. 2023 Jul 13;10:1222415. doi: 10.3389/fmolb.2023.1222415. eCollection 2023.
Anxiety disorders have emerged as a predominant health concern, yet existing pharmacological treatments for anxiety still present various challenges. Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat Carbonisata (CMRC) has been utilized in China for approximately 400 years as a therapeutic intervention for anxiety disorders. In this study, a novel type of carbon dots derived from the decoction of Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat Carbonisata (CMRC-CDs) was identified and isolated, and their morphological structure and functional groups were characterized. Furthermore, the effects of CMRC-CDs on m-chlorophenylpiperazine (mCPP)-induced anxiety-like behaviour in mice were examined and quantified. In order to investigate the potential mechanisms of their anxiolytic effects, concentrations of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis hormones, amino acid neurotransmitters, and monoamine neurotransmitters were measured. In this study, we synthesized CMRC-CDs and evaluated their potential anti-anxiety effects in a controlled experiment involving 48 male ICR mice. The mice were randomly divided into six groups, treated with CMRC-CDs at different doses for 14 days, and subjected to Open-Field (OF) and Elevated Plus Maze (EPM) tests. Post-behavioral evaluations, blood samples and brain tissues were collected for neurotransmitter and Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis hormone quantification via ELISA. Additionally, cytotoxicity of CMRC-CDs was assessed using a Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay on RAW 264.7 cells. CMRC-CDs were spherical and homogeneously dispersed, with diameters ranging from 1.4 to 4.0 nm and an abundance of chemical groups on their surface. In the open-field (OF) test, mice pre-treated with CMRC-CDs demonstrated an increased proportion of time spent in the central area and a higher frequency of entries into the central area. In the elevated plus maze (EPM) test, mice pre-treated with CMRC-CDs exhibited a greater number of entries into the open arm and an extended duration spent in the open arm. CMRC-CDs were observed to decrease serum concentrations of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), and corticosterone (CORT). Furthermore, CMRC-CDs were found to increase γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) levels, while concurrently reducing glutamic acid (Glu) concentrations in brain tissue. CMRC-CDs demonstrated anxiolytic effects, which may be attributed to their modulation of hormones and neurotransmitters. This finding suggests the potential therapeutic value of CMRC-CDs in the clinical treatment of anxiety disorders.
焦虑症已成为一个主要的健康问题，但现有的焦虑症药物治疗仍面临各种挑战。菊花炭（CMRC）在中国已被用作焦虑症的治疗干预措施约400年。在本研究中，一种新型的源自菊花炭水煎液的碳点（CMRC-CDs）被鉴定和分离，并对其形态结构和官能团进行了表征。此外，研究并量化了CMRC-CDs对小鼠中氯苯哌嗪（mCPP）诱导的焦虑样行为的影响。为了研究其抗焦虑作用的潜在机制，测量了下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺（HPA）轴激素、氨基酸神经递质和单胺神经递质的浓度。在本研究中，我们合成了CMRC-CDs，并在一项涉及48只雄性ICR小鼠的对照实验中评估了它们的潜在抗焦虑作用。将小鼠随机分为六组，用不同剂量的CMRC-CDs处理14天，并进行旷场试验（OF）和高架十字迷宫试验（EPM）。行为评估后，收集血液样本和脑组织，通过酶联免疫吸附测定法（ELISA）对神经递质和下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺（HPA）轴激素进行定量。此外，使用细胞计数试剂盒-8（CCK-8）检测法评估CMRC-CDs对RAW 264.7细胞的细胞毒性。CMRC-CDs呈球形且均匀分散，直径范围为1.4至4.0纳米，其表面有大量化学基团。在旷场试验（OF）中，预先用CMRC-CDs处理的小鼠在中央区域停留的时间比例增加，进入中央区域的频率更高。在高架十字迷宫试验（EPM）中，预先用CMRC-CDs处理的小鼠进入开放臂的次数更多，在开放臂中停留的时间更长。观察到CMRC-CDs可降低促肾上腺皮质激素释放激素（CRH）、促肾上腺皮质激素（ACTH）和皮质酮（CORT）的血清浓度。此外，发现CMRC-CDs可提高脑组织中γ-氨基丁酸（GABA）和5-羟色胺（5-HT）的水平，同时降低谷氨酸（Glu）的浓度。CMRC-CDs表现出抗焦虑作用，这可能归因于它们对激素和神经递质的调节。这一发现表明CMRC-CDs在焦虑症临床治疗中的潜在治疗价值。
