Anti-depressant effects of oil from fructus gardeniae via PKA-CREB-BDNF signaling.

Jie Ruan,Xin Shan,Qiang Fu,Baomei Xia,Li Liu

doi:10.1042/bsr20190141

Jie Ruan, Xin Shan + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.1042/bsr20190141

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Abstract

The dried ripe fruit of Gardenia jasminoides Ellis was usually applied as an herb medicine in Traditional Chinese Medicine. It was suggested that the Gardenia jasminoides oil extract (oil from Fructus Gardeniae [OFG]) might serve as a potential treatment for depression, whereas its pathogenesis still remained not fully understood. The present research was conducted to evaluate the anti-depressive effect of OFG in mice and explore its potential mechanism. The OFG and ketamine (KET) were intragastrically and intraperitoneally treated, respectively. Thereafter, the animals were subjected to the behavior tests. The expressions of protein kinase A (PKA), brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) in hippocampus were detected by Western blot. The selective PKA inhibitor H-89 was also applied to confirm the mechanism. As a result, OFG and KET treatment improved the behavior performance. Furthermore, the administrations of OFG effectively enhanced the expressions of PKA, p-CREB, and BDNF. With the application of selective PKA inhibitor H-89, the ameliorated effects caused by OFG were blocked, but not by KET. In conclusion, the presented work indicated that OFG-exerted protective effect on depression through PKA-CREB-BDNF signaling.

Highlights

Depression and stress-related mental disorder lead to significant personal, economic, and social burdens [1,2,3]
Studies have shown that the non-polar extract of Gardenia Jasminoides has a rapid anti-depressant activity, which mainly activated by the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)-tropomyosin-related kinase receptor B (TrkB) cascade [9]
Effects of oil from Fructus Gardeniae (OFG) on the distance traveled and the center time in open field test The spontaneous locomotor activity was estimated in open field test (OFT)

Summary

Introduction

Depression and stress-related mental disorder lead to significant personal, economic, and social burdens [1,2,3]. Studies have shown that the non-polar extract of Gardenia Jasminoides has a rapid anti-depressant activity, which mainly activated by the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)-tropomyosin-related kinase receptor B (TrkB) cascade [9]. BDNF expression is regulated by a variety of signaling pathways including cAMP response element binding (CREB), which is one of the most studied transcription factors involved in the etiology of depressive and anti-depressive responses. Studies have shown that the non-polar extract of Gardenia Jasminoides has a rapid antidepressant activity, which mainly depends on the BDNF-TrkB signaling [9]. Oil component prepared from the Fruit of Gardenia jasminoides (OFG) using the supercritical fluid carbon dioxide extraction might contain effective constituent which could be used for depression therapy [11]. The present study was aimed to evaluate the anti-depressant activity of OFG and explain its correlated mechanism

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Conclusion