Coniferyl ferulate exerts antidepressant effect via inhibiting the activation of NMDAR-CaMKII-MAPKs and mitochondrial apoptotic pathways

Short-term steaming during processing impacts the quality of Citri Reticulatae 'Chachi' peel

Citrus peel is a commonly used food-medicine material in the production of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs). For instance, Ganpu tea is manufactured by combining the peel of Citri Reticulatae 'Chachi' (PCRC) with Pu-erh tea. The alleviated irritation of PCRC through years of aging makes Citri reticulatae Pericarpium a traditional Chinese medicine. Herein, we introduced short-term steaming into the processing of PCRC to favor the quick removal of its irritation while retaining its food-medicine properties. Sensory evaluation and volatile component analysis showed that 60-s steaming reduced irritation of freshly prepared PCRC. Biological evaluations indicated no effects of steaming on the neuroprotective activity of PCRC. The process increased the contents of several bioactive ingredients, including hesperidin, nobiletin, tangeretin, and synephrine. In addition, physical indications of accelerating PCRC aging were observed. Taken together, our findings suggest that short-term steaming may offer a promising new possibility for enhancing the quality of citrus peel.

Pharmacological mechanism of natural antidepressants: The role of mitochondrial quality control

BACKGROUND

Depression is a mental illness characterized by persistent sadness and a reduced capacity for pleasure. In clinical practice, SSRIs and other medications are commonly used for therapy, despite their various side effects. Natural products present distinct advantages, including synergistic interactions among multiple components and targeting multiple pathways, suggesting their tremendous potential in depression treatment. Imbalance in mitochondrial quality control (MQC) plays a significant role in the pathology of depression, emphasizing the importance of regulating MQC as a potential intervention strategy in addressing the onset and progression of depression. However, the role and mechanism through which natural products regulate MQC in depression treatments still need to be comprehensively elucidated, particularly in clinical and preclinical settings.

PURPOSE

This review was aimed to summarize the findings of recent studies and outline the pharmacological mechanisms by which natural products modulate MQC to exert antidepressant effects. Additionally, it evaluated current research limitations and proposed new strategies for future preclinical and clinical applications in the depression domain.

METHODS

To study the main pharmacological mechanisms underlying the regulation of MQC by natural products in the treatment of depression, we conducted a thorough search across databases such as PubMed, Web of Science, and ScienceDirect databases to classify and summarize the relationship between MQC and depression, as well as the regulatory mechanisms of natural products.

RESULTS

Numerous studies have shown that irregularities in the MQC system play an important role in the pathology of depression, and the regulation of the MQC system is involved in antidepressant treatments. Natural products mainly regulate the MQC system to induce antidepressant effects by alleviating oxidative stress, balancing ATP levels, promoting mitophagy, maintaining calcium homeostasis, optimizing mitochondrial dynamics, regulating mitochondrial membrane potential, and enhancing mitochondrial biogenesis.

CONCLUSIONS

We comprehensively summarized the regulation of natural products on the MQC system in antidepressants, providing a unique perspective for the application of natural products within antidepressant therapy. However, extensive efforts are imperative in clinical and preclinical investigations to delve deeper into the mechanisms underlying how antidepressant medications impact MQC, which is crucial for the development of effective antidepressant treatments.

Targeting autophagy to counteract neuroinflammation: A novel antidepressant strategy

Depression is a common disease that affects physical and mental health and imposes a considerable burden on afflicted individuals and their families worldwide. Depression is associated with a high rate of disability and suicide. It causes a severe decline in productivity and quality of life. Unfortunately, the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying depression have not been fully elucidated, and the risk of its treatment is still presented. Studies have shown that the expression of autophagic markers in the brain and peripheral inflammatory mediators are dysregulated in depression. Autophagy-related genes regulate the level of autophagy and change the inflammatory response in depression. Depression is related to several aspects of immunity. The regulation of the immune system and inflammation by autophagy may lead to the development or deterioration of mental disorders. This review highlights the role of autophagy and neuroinflammation in the pathophysiology of depression, sumaries the autophagy-targeting small moleculars, and discusses a novel therapeutic strategy based on anti-inflammatory mechanisms that target autophagy to treat the disease.

Coniferyl ferulate alleviate xylene-caused hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell toxicity by Mgst2

Xylene exposure is known to induce toxicity in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs), leading to bone marrow suppression and potential leukemogenesis. However, research on the gene expression profiles associated with xylene-induced toxicity in HSPCs, and effective therapeutic interventions, remains scarce. In our study, we employed single-cell RNA sequencing to capture the transcriptomic shifts within bone marrow HSPCs both prior to and following treatment with coniferyl ferulate (CF) in a mouse model of xylene-induced hematotoxicity. Subsequently, we pinpointed CF as a targeted agent using SPR-LC/MS analysis. This enabled us to confirm the link between the gene Mgst2 and specific cellular subtypes. Our data revealed that CF significantly countered the reduction of both monocyte and neutrophil progenitor cells, which are commonly affected by xylene toxicity. Through targeted analysis, we identified Mgst2 as a direct molecular target of CF. Notably, Mgst2 is preferentially expressed in neutrophil progenitor cells and is implicated in mitochondrial metabolic processes. By selectively inhibiting Mgst2 in bone marrow, we observed amelioration of xylene-induced hematotoxic effects. In summary, our findings suggest that coniferyl ferulate can mitigate the detrimental impact of xylene on hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells by targeting Mgst2, particularly within subpopulations of neutrophil progenitors. This discovery not only advances our comprehension of the cellular response of HSPCs to xenobiotic stressors like xylene but also identifies CF and Mgst2 as potential therapeutic targets for alleviating xylene-induced hematotoxicity.

The regulatory effect of Angelicae Sinensis Radix on neuroendocrine-immune network and sphingolipid metabolism in CUMS-induced model of depression

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Conventional antidepressants therapy remains unsatisfactory due to the disadvantages of delayed clinical onset of action and side effects. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) with good efficacy and higher safety have received much attention. Angelicae Sinensis Radix (AS), a well-known TCM, has been proved to exhibit the efficacy of antidepression recently.

AIM OF THE STUDY

The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential anti-depressant mechanisms of AS based on chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) rat model.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In this study, behavioral experiments, molecular biology techniques, and ultra performance liquid chromatography-triple-time of flight mass spectrometer (UPLC-Triple-TOF/MS) were combined to explore the potential antidepressant mechanisms of AS based on CUMS rat model.

RESULTS

The results demonstrated that AS could reduce the contents of serum hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis hormones in CUMS rats, including corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and cortisol (CORT). In addition, AS regulated the percentage of CD4+ T lymphocytes, the ratio of CD4+/CD8+, and the levels of serum cytokines such as IL-1β, IL-4, IL-6, and TNF-α in CUMS rats. Lipidomics showed that 31 lipids were related to depression and AS could regulate the lipid metabolism alteration induced by CUMS, particularly sphingolipid metabolism. Finally, the key proteins in sphingolipid metabolic pathways in hippocampus of CUMS rats could be back-regulated by AS, including serine palmitoyl transferase (SPTLC2), ceramide synthase (CerS2), sphingomyelinase (SPHK1), and neutral sphingomyelinase (nSMase).

CONCLUSION

AS could alleviate NEI network disorder and restore the levels of sphingolipid metabolites and key proteins in CUMS rats. The underlying mechanism by which AS relieved depression-like behavior in CUMS rats may be through modulation of NEI and disturbances in sphingolipid metabolism.

Possible Effects and Mechanisms of Dietary Natural Products and Nutrients on Depression and Anxiety: A Narrative Review

Depression and anxiety are severe public health problems and have attracted more and more attention from researchers of food science and nutrition. Dietary natural products and nutrients, such as fish, coffee, tea, n-3 PUFA, lycopene, and dietary fiber, could play a vital role in the prevention and management of these diseases. The potential mechanisms of action mainly include inhibiting inflammation, ameliorating oxidative stress, modulating the microbiota-gut-brain axis, suppressing hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis hyperactivity, and regulating the levels of monoamine neurotransmitters. In this narrative review, we summarize the most recent advancements regarding the effects of dietary natural products and nutrients on depression and anxiety, and their underlying mechanisms are discussed. We hope that this paper can provide a better understanding of the anti-depressive and anxiolytic action of dietary natural products, and that it is also helpful for developing dietary natural products for functional food, dietary supplements, or auxiliary agents for the prevention and management of these diseases.

Medicine-food herb: Angelica sinensis, a potential therapeutic hope for Alzheimer's disease and related complications

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease, which has brought a huge burden to the world. The current therapeutic approach of one-molecule-one-target strategy fails to address the issues of AD because of multiple pathological features of AD. Traditionally, the herb of Angelica sinensis (AS) comes from the root of an umbrella plant Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels. As a typical medicine-food herb, studies have shown that AS can alleviate AD and AD-complications by multiple targets through the various foundations of pharmaceutical material and dietary supply basis. Therefore, this review summarizes the pharmacological effects of AS for the treatment of AD and AD-complications for the first time. AS contains many effective components, such as ligustilide, z-ligustilide, n-butylidenephthalide, α-pinene, p-cymene, myrcene, ferulic acid, vanillic acid and coniferyl ferulate. It is found that AS, AS-active compounds and AS-compound recipes mainly treat AD through neuroprotective, anti-inflammation, and anti-oxidant effects, improving mitochondrial dysfunction, anti-neuronal apoptosis, regulating autophagy, regulating intestinal flora and enhancing the central cholinergic system, which shows the multi-component and multi-target effect of AS. The role of dietary supplement components in AS for AD intervention is summarized, including vitamin B₁₂, folic acid, arginine, and oleic acid, which can improve the symptoms of AD. Besides, this review focuses on the safety and toxicity evaluation of AS, which provides a basis for its application. This review will provide further support for the research on AD and the application of medicine-food herb AS in a healthy lifestyle in the future.

Ferulic Acid Protects Endothelial Cells from Hypoxia-Induced Injury by Regulating MicroRNA-92a

Materials and Methods

CCK-8 (cell counting kit-8), Western blotting and Annexin V-FITC/PI staining were used to detect cell viability and apoptosis after hypoxia stimulation. The level of microRNA-92 a (miR-92 a) was detected by qRT-PCR.. Then, the assays of flow cytometry and the annexin V/PI staining kit were applied to value the impact of FA on hypoxia-induced cell proliferation, cell cycle distribution, and apoptosis. Furthermore, the inhibitor and mimic of miR-92a were also administrated to explore the role of miR-92a in this process. Student's t-test was used to explore the differences between two groups, while one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to explore the differences between more than two groups.

Results

The results showed that hypoxia stimulation significantly inhibited HUVEC viability and proliferation, such as remarkably decreasing the expression of CDK2, CDK4, and cyclin D1 in HUVECs. The results of annexin V-FITC/PI apoptosis detection showed that hypoxia culture significantly induced HUVEC apoptosis, which indicated that hypoxia stimulation significantly inhibited viability and proliferation of HUVECs but caused cell apoptosis and the expression of miR-92a. Meanwhile, FA remarkably protected HUVECs from hypoxia-induced inhibition of viability and proliferation, as well as the enhancement of apoptosis and miR-92a expression. Furthermore, suppression of miR-92a enhanced the protective effects of FA on hypoxia-induced HUVECs, while activation of miR-92a reversed those effects.

Conclusion

Our study reported that FA preserved HUVECs from hypoxia-induced injury via regulating miR-92a, which facilitated the understanding of the protective capacity of FA in hypoxia-caused HUVEC injury.

Key Phytochemicals and Biological Functions of Chuanxiong Rhizoma Against Ischemic Stroke: A Network Pharmacology and Experimental Assessment

Presently, the treatment options for ischemic stroke (IS) are limited due to the complicated pathological process of the disease. Chuanxiong Rhizome (CR), also known as Conioselinum anthriscoides "Chuanxiong" (rhizome), is the most widely used traditional Chinese medicine for treating stroke. This study aimed to uncover the key phytochemicals and biological functions of CR against IS through a network pharmacology approach combining with IS pathophysiology analysis. We employed permanent unilateral common carotid artery ligation to construct a mouse model of global cerebral ischemia and found that cerebral ischemia injuries were improved after 7 days of gavage treatment of CR (1,300 mg/kg/day). CR exerts protective effects on neurons mainly by acting on targets related to synaptic structure, synaptic function, neuronal survival and neuronal growth. A total of 18 phytochemicals from CR based on UHPLC-MS/MS that corresponded to 85 anti-IS targets. Coniferyl ferulate, neocnidilide and ferulic acid were identified as the key phytochemicals of CR against IS. Its brain protective effects involve anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative stress, and anti-cell death activities and improves blood circulation. Additionally, the two most important synergistic effects of CR phytochemicals in treating IS are prevention of infection and regulation of blood pressure. In brain samples of Sham mice, L-tryptophan and vanillin were detected, while L-tryptophan, gallic acid, vanillin and cryptochlorogenic acid were detected in IS mice by UHPLC-MS/MS. Our findings provide a pathophysiology relevant pharmacological basis for further researches on IS therapeutic drugs.

Detecting Critical Functional Ingredients Group and Mechanism of Xuebijing Injection in Treating Sepsis

Sepsis is a systemic inflammatory reaction caused by various infectious or noninfectious factors, which can lead to shock, multiple organ dysfunction syndrome, and death. It is one of the common complications and a main cause of death in critically ill patients. At present, the treatments of sepsis are mainly focused on the controlling of inflammatory response and reduction of various organ function damage, including anti-infection, hormones, mechanical ventilation, nutritional support, and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Among them, Xuebijing injection (XBJI) is an important derivative of TCM, which is widely used in clinical research. However, the molecular mechanism of XBJI on sepsis is still not clear. The mechanism of treatment of "bacteria, poison and inflammation" and the effects of multi-ingredient, multi-target, and multi-pathway have still not been clarified. For solving this issue, we designed a new systems pharmacology strategy which combines target genes of XBJI and the pathogenetic genes of sepsis to construct functional response space (FRS). The key response proteins in the FRS were determined by using a novel node importance calculation method and were condensed by a dynamic programming strategy to conduct the critical functional ingredients group (CFIG). The results showed that enriched pathways of key response proteins selected from FRS could cover 95.83% of the enriched pathways of reference targets, which were defined as the intersections of ingredient targets and pathogenetic genes. The targets of the optimized CFIG with 60 ingredients could be enriched into 182 pathways which covered 81.58% of 152 pathways of 1,606 pathogenetic genes. The prediction of CFIG targets showed that the CFIG of XBJI could affect sepsis synergistically through genes such as TAK1, TNF-α, IL-1β, and MEK1 in the pathways of MAPK, NF-κB, PI3K-AKT, Toll-like receptor, and tumor necrosis factor signaling. Finally, the effects of apigenin, baicalein, and luteolin were evaluated by in vitro experiments and were proved to be effective in reducing the production of intracellular reactive oxygen species in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW264.7 cells, significantly. These results indicate that the novel integrative model can promote reliability and accuracy on depicting the CFIGs in XBJI and figure out a methodological coordinate for simplicity, mechanism analysis, and secondary development of formulas in TCM.

Oral coniferyl ferulate attenuated depression symptoms in mice via reshaping gut microbiota and microbial metabolism

The gut microbiome is known to be involved in depression development. Thus, phytochemicals changing gut microbiota may alleviate depression-like behaviors. Coniferyl ferulate (CF) is a long studied natural product and known to alleviate psychiatric disorders. However, its mechanism of action remains unclear. In this experimental study, oral administration of 50 mg kg^-1 CF once daily attenuated weight loss and depression-like and anxiety-like behaviors induced by chronic unpredicted mild stress (CUMS) in mice. Four weeks of CF administration significantly ameliorated colonic inflammation, lowered the levels of IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α, and restructured the gut microbiome, and microbial metabolism. Intestinal microbiota can impact the development and function of the brain via the microbiota-gut-brain axis. Therefore, oral administration of CF is a promising nutritional strategy to treat CUMS-induced depression via the regulation of microbiota and microbial metabolism.

Phencynonate hydrochloride exerts antidepressant effects by regulating the dendritic spine density and altering glutamate receptor expression

Phencynonate hydrochloride (PCH) is a drug that crosses the blood-brain barrier. Cellular experiments confirmed that PCH protects against glutamate toxicity and causes only weak central inhibition and limited side effects. As shown in our previous studies, PCH alleviates depression-like behaviours induced by chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS). Here we administered PCH at three different doses (4, 8 and 16 mg/kg) to male rats for two continuous days after CUMS and conducted behavioural tests to assess the dose-dependent antidepressant effects of PCH and its effects on the neuroplasticity in the hippocampus and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Meanwhile, we measured the spine density and expression of related proteins to illustrate the mechanism of PCH. PCH treatment (8 mg/kg) significantly alleviated depression-like behaviours induced by CUMS. All doses of PCH treatment reversed the spine loss in prelimbic and CA3 regions induced by CUMS. Kalirin-7 expression was decreased in the hippocampus and mPFC of the CUMS group. The expression of the NR1 and NR2B subunits in the hippocampus, and NR2B in mPFC are increased by CUMS. PCH treatment (8 and 16 mg/kg) reversed all of these changes of Kalirin-7 in PFC and hippocampus, as well as NR1 and NR2B expression in the hippocampus. PCH is expected to be developed as a new type of rapid antidepressant. Its antidepressant effect may be closely related to the modulation of dendritic spine density in the prelimbic and CA3 regions and the regulation of Kalilin-7 and N-methyl-D-aspartic acid receptor levels in the hippocampus.

Natural products targeting mitochondria: emerging therapeutics for age-associated neurological disorders

Mitochondria are the primary source of energy production in the brain thereby supporting most of its activity. However, mitochondria become inefficient and dysfunctional with age and to a greater extent in neurological disorders. Thus, mitochondria represent an emerging drug target for many age-associated neurological disorders. This review summarizes recent advances (covering from 2010 to May 2020) in the use of natural products from plant, animal, and microbial sources as potential neuroprotective agents to restore mitochondrial function. Natural products from diverse classes of chemical structures are discussed and organized according to their mechanism of action on mitochondria in terms of modulation of biogenesis, dynamics, bioenergetics, calcium homeostasis, and membrane potential, as well as inhibition of the oxytosis/ferroptosis pathway. This analysis emphasizes the significant value of natural products for mitochondrial pharmacology as well as the opportunities and challenges for the discovery and development of future neurotherapeutics.

Effects of ketogenic diet on cognitive function in pentylenetetrazol-kindled rats

Although the ketogenic diet (KD) is known to control seizures and improve cognition function in patients with drug-refractory epilepsy, the underlying mechanism remains unknown. In the present study, using pentylenetetrazol (PTZ)-induced and kindled rats, we found that KD significantly improved the impaired spatial reference memory of PTZ-kindled rats in the Morris water maze. To explore the mechanism underlying the action of KD in PTZ-kindled rats, quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and immunohistochemical analysis were used to detect the expression of GluR1 and NR2B. The results showed that both the mRNA and protein expression of GluR1 and NR2B were significantly downregulated in the hippocampus of PTZ-kindled rats, while KD could observably improve both the mRNA and protein expression of GluR1 and NR2B in the hippocampus of PTZ-kindled rats. Additionally, KD improved the over-activated MAPK in PTZ-kindled rats, but not CAMKII, as detected by enzyme-linked immuno sorbent assay (ELISA), suggesting that the MAPK signaling pathway might be involved in the memory improvement of KD in PTZ-kindled rats. In conclusion, these results demonstrate that KD can indeed improve impaired spatial reference memory in PTZ-kindled rats, and KD can improve the expression of NR2B and GluR1.