Marzo Claudio Marcello, Bianconi Martino, Commisso Mauro, Gambini Sofia, Chiamulera Cristiano, Avesani Linda, Negri Stefano, Guzzo Flavia
Department of Biotechnology, University of Verona, Strada Le Grazie, Verona, Italy.
National Biodiversity Future Center (NBFC), Piazza Marina, Palermo, Italy.
PLoS One. 2025 Aug 18;20(8):e0326134. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0326134. eCollection 2025.
Plant-based diets are associated with both physical health and psychological wellbeing. Recent evidence suggests that kiwifruit positively affects cognitive functions and mood, but the bioactive components responsible for this are unknown. In this work, we combined two predictive preclinical models of depression (TST and FST) with untargeted metabolomics to evaluate the antidepressant activity of green kiwifruit in mice and to identify the fruit bioactive phytochemicals responsible for this effect. Mice treated with green kiwifruit juice showed dose-dependent reductions in depressive behavior. Two kiwifruit-derived metabolites - quinic acid and caffeic acid sulfate (the latter formed in mice via metabolism of kiwifruit caffeic acid glucosides) - were detected in mouse serum and brain tissue, suggesting they may confer the observed effects. When administered as pure compounds, quinic acid closely replicated the antidepressant effect of kiwifruit juice, whereas caffeic acid glucoside had little impact. Other fruit metabolites may act synergistically with quinic acid to increase its bioavailability in serum and its absorption into the brain parenchyma. Our approach thus led to the discovery of quinic acid as the kiwifruit metabolite capable of rapidly reaching the mouse brain and exerting an antidepressant effect in synergy with other fruit metabolites.
植物性饮食与身体健康和心理健康都有关联。最近的证据表明，猕猴桃对认知功能和情绪有积极影响，但其背后的生物活性成分尚不清楚。在这项研究中，我们将两种抑郁症的预测性临床前模型（悬尾试验和强迫游泳试验）与非靶向代谢组学相结合，以评估绿心猕猴桃对小鼠的抗抑郁活性，并确定导致这种效果的水果生物活性植物化学物质。用绿心猕猴桃汁处理的小鼠表现出抑郁行为的剂量依赖性降低。在小鼠血清和脑组织中检测到两种源自猕猴桃的代谢物——奎尼酸和硫酸咖啡酸（后者是通过猕猴桃咖啡酸葡萄糖苷在小鼠体内代谢形成的），这表明它们可能产生了观察到的效果。当作为纯化合物给药时，奎尼酸紧密复制了猕猴桃汁的抗抑郁效果，而咖啡酸葡萄糖苷几乎没有影响。其他水果代谢物可能与奎尼酸协同作用，以增加其在血清中的生物利用度及其向脑实质的吸收。因此，我们的方法发现了奎尼酸作为一种猕猴桃代谢物，它能够迅速到达小鼠大脑，并与其他水果代谢物协同发挥抗抑郁作用。
