GABA In Mouse Brain Research Articles

Sedative and hypnotic effects of compound Anshen essential oil inhalation for insomnia

BackgroundsThe chemical composition of many essential oils indicates that they have sedative and hypnotic effects, but there is still a lack of systematic studies on the sedative and hypnotic effects of essential oils. In addition, aromatherapy does not seem to have the side effects of many traditional psychotropic substances, which is clearly worthwhile for further clinical and scientific research. The clinical application of essential oils in aromatherapy has received increasing attention, and detailed studies on the pharmacological activities of inhaled essential oils are increasingly needed.Hypothesis/purposeAs insomniacs are usually accompanied by symptoms of depression and anxiety of varying degrees, based on the theory of aromatherapy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, this experiment is to study a Compound Anshen essential oil that is compatible with Lavender essential oil, Sweet Orange essential oil, Sandalwood essential oil and other aromatic medicine essential oils with sedative and hypnotic effects, anti-anxiety and anti-depression effects. To study the sedative and hypnotic effects of Compound Anshen essential oil inhaled and the main chemical components of Compound Anshen essential oil, and to compare and analyze the pharmacodynamics of diazepam, a commonly used drug for insomnia.MethodsThe Open field test and Pentobarbital-induced sleep latency and sleep time experiments were used to analyze and compare the sedative and hypnotic effects of inhaling Compound Anshen essential oil and the administration of diazepam on mice. The changes of 5-HT and GABA in mouse brain were analyzed by Elisa. The main volatile constituents of Compound Anshen essential oil were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS).ResultsInhalation of Compound Anshen essential oil can significantly reduce the spontaneous activity of mice, reduce latency of sleeping time and prolong duration of sleeping time. The results of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay showed that Compound Anshen essential oil can increase the content of 5-HT and GABA in mouse brain. The main volatile chemical constituents of the Compound Anshen essential oil are D-limonene (24.07%), Linalool (21.98%), Linalyl acetate (15.37%), α-Pinene (5.39%), and α-Santalol (4.8%).ConclusionThe study found that the inhalation of Compound Anshen essential oil has sedative and hypnotic effect. This study provides a theoretical basis for further research and development of the sedative and hypnotic effects of Compound Anshen essential oil based on the theory of aromatherapy.

Quantification of neurotransmitters in mouse brain tissue by using liquid chromatography coupled electrospray tandem mass spectrometry.

A simple and rapid liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method has been developed for the determination of BH4, DA, 5-HT, NE, EP, Glu, and GABA in mouse brain using epsilon-acetamidocaproic acid and isotopically labeled neurotransmitters as internal standards. Proteins in the samples were precipitated by adding acetonitrile, and then the supernatants were separated by a Sepax Polar-Imidazole (2.1 mm × 100 mm, i.d., 3 μm) column by adding a mixture of 10 mM ammonium formate in acetonitrile/water (75 : 25, v/v, 300 μl/min) for BH4 and DA. To assay 5-HT, NE, EP, Glu, and GABA; a Luna 3 μ C18 (3.0 mm × 150 mm, i.d., 3 μm) column was used by adding a mixture of 1% formic acid in acetonitrile/water (20 : 80, v/v, 350 μl/min). The total chromatographic run time was 5.5 min. The method was validated for the analysis of samples. The calibration curve was linear between 10 and 2000 ng/g for BH4 (r2 = 0.995) , 10 and 5000 ng/g for DA (r2 = 0.997) , 20 and 10000 ng/g for 5-HT (r2 = 0.994) , NE (r2 = 0.993) , and EP (r2 = 0.993) , and 0.2 and 200 μg/g for Glu (r2 = 0.996) and GABA (r2 = 0.999) in the mouse brain tissues. As stated above, LC-MS/MS results were obtained and established to be a useful tool for the quantitative analysis of BH4, DA, 5-HT, NE, EP, Glu, and GABA in the experimental rodent brain.

Studies on the GABAergic system in astrocytoma and neuroblastoma cells in culture

The GABAergic system was investigated in C-6 astrocytoma cells and C-1300 neuroblastoma cells in culture and compared to that in mouse brain. The activities of glutamate decarboxylase, GABA-transaminase, succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase and glutamate dehydrogenase were measured. In the cultured cells, only glutamate dehydrogenase activity was equal or greater than that of mouse cerebral cortex. Glutamate decarboxylase in both cell lines was 2%, while GABA-transaminase and succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase activities were less than 20% of those found in brain. In spite of the disparate enzyme activities, GABA, glutamate, and α-ketoglutarate concentrations were similar in the cell lines and cerebral cortex. The anticonvulsant drugs sodium valproate and aminooxyacetic acid increased cortical GABA concentrations but either had no effect or decreased GABA in the cells in a complete medium. The convulsant isoniazid decreased GABA in mouse brain but had no effect in either cell line. In the absence of pyridoxal in the medium, some drug effects could be induced in the cultured cells. It is concluded that the differing responses of the GABAergic system in the mouse brain and cell lines may be attributed in part to the fact that the cells do not represent an integrated system and are of tumor origin.

The levels of GABA in mouse brain following tissue inactivation by microwave irradiation.

The levels of GABA in mouse brain following tissue inactivation by microwave irradiation.