Abstract
Flavonoids and carotenoids are bioactive compounds that have protective effects against depressive symptoms. Flavonoids and carotenoids are the two main types of antioxidant phytochemicals. This study investigated the association between flavonoid and carotenoid intake and depressive symptoms in middle-aged Korean females. We analyzed the mechanism of these associations using an in silico method. Depressive symptoms were screened using the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), and flavonoid and carotenoid intake were assessed using a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Using a multivariate logistic regression model, we found that flavones, anthocyanins, individual phenolic compounds, lycopene, and zeaxanthin were negatively associated with depressive symptoms. In silico analysis showed that most flavonoids have high docking scores for monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) and monoamine oxidase B (MAOB), which are two important drug targets in depression. The results of the docking of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and carotenoids suggested the possibility of allosteric activation of BDNF by carotenoids. These results suggest that dietary flavonoids and carotenoids can be utilized in the treatment of depressive symptoms.
Highlights
Depression is one of the most common mental illnesses that affect a person’s poor performance in education, work, and family life [1]
The depression and depressive symptoms were found to be associated with all-cause mortality and especially with cardiovascular diseases (CVD) mortality in studies conducted on the different races and populations [6,7]
In the case of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), the top-scoring molecule was alpha-carotene with an estimated free binding energy of binding (EFEB) value of
Summary
Depression is one of the most common mental illnesses that affect a person’s poor performance in education, work, and family life [1]. Several studies have reported that depressive symptoms are associated with an elevated risk of cardiovascular disease and heart failure [2,3]. The risk of depression is elevated in diseases such as angina, arthritis, asthma, cancer, and diabetes [4,5]. The depression and depressive symptoms were found to be associated with all-cause mortality and especially with cardiovascular diseases (CVD) mortality in studies conducted on the different races and populations [6,7]. There is a high prevalence of major depressive disorders, with approximately one in every
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