Abstract
BackgroundHericium erinaceus is a culinary and medicinal mushroom in Traditional Chinese Medicines. It has numerous pharmacological effects including immunomodulatory, anti-tumour, anti-microbial, anti-aging and stimulation of nerve growth factor (NGF) synthesis, but little is known about its potential role in negating the detrimental effects of oxidative stress in depression. The present study investigated the neuroprotective effects of H. erinaceus standardised aqueous extract (HESAE) against high-dose corticosterone-induced oxidative stress in rat pheochromocytoma (PC-12) cells, a cellular model mimicking depression.MethodsPC-12 cells was pre-treated with HESAE for 48 h followed by 400 μM corticosterone for 24 h to induce oxidative stress. Cells in complete medium without any treatment or pre-treated with 3.125 μg/mL desipramine served as the negative and positive controls, respectively. The cell viability, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release, endogenous antioxidant enzyme activities, aconitase activity, mitochondrial membrane potentials (MMPs), intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and number of apoptotic nuclei were quantified. In addition, HESAE ethanol extract was separated into fractions by chromatographic methods prior to spectroscopic analysis.ResultsWe observed that PC-12 cells treated with high-dose corticosterone at 400 μM had decreased cell viability, reduced endogenous antioxidant enzyme activities, disrupted mitochondrial function, and increased oxidative stress and apoptosis. However, pre-treatment with HESAE ranging from 0.25 to 1 mg/mL had increased cell viability, decreased LDH release, enhanced endogenous antioxidant enzyme activities, restored MMP, attenuated intracellular ROS and protected from ROS-mediated apoptosis. The neuroprotective effects could be attributed to significant amounts of adenosine and herierin III isolated from HESAE.ConclusionsHESAE demonstrated neuroprotective effects against high-dose corticosterone-induced oxidative stress in an in vitro model mimicking depression. HESAE could be a potential dietary supplement to treat depression.
Highlights
Hericium erinaceus is a culinary and medicinal mushroom in Traditional Chinese Medicines
We evaluated the neuroprotective effects of H. erinaceus standardised aqueous extract (HESAE) in a depression mimicking condition through the establishment of highdose corticosterone-induced oxidative stress model in PC-12 cells, and analysed the major chemical constituents in the extract
As 500 μM corticosterone produced more than 50% reduction in the viability (47.76 ± 4.93%; p < 0.05), Fig. 2 Effect of corticosterone and HESAE on the viability of PC-12 cells
Summary
Hericium erinaceus is a culinary and medicinal mushroom in Traditional Chinese Medicines. It has numerous pharmacological effects including immunomodulatory, anti-tumour, anti-microbial, anti-aging and stimulation of nerve growth factor (NGF) synthesis, but little is known about its potential role in negating the detrimental effects of oxidative stress in depression. The present study investigated the neuroprotective effects of H. erinaceus standardised aqueous extract (HESAE) against high-dose corticosterone-induced oxidative stress in rat pheochromocytoma (PC-12) cells, a cellular model mimicking depression. The combination of pharmacological and non-pharmacological (including self-care or psychotherapeutic approaches) treatments for depression have only moderate to short-term efficacy. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are first-line antidepressants commonly used in clinical practice, they can have poor tolerability, delayed onset of therapeutic effects and limited efficacy in patients with milder depression [3]. It is important to develop and establish Traditional Chinese Medicines that can mimic the desirable antidepressants effects with minimal adverse consequences
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