Effects of Platycodins Folium on Depression in Mice Based on a UPLC-Q/TOF-MS Serum Assay and Hippocampus Metabolomics

Abstract

Major depressive disorder (MDD), also known as depression, is a state characterized by low mood and aversion to activity. Platycodins Folium (PF) is the dried leaf of Platycodon grandiflorum, with anti-inflammatory and antioxidative activities. Our previous research suggested that PF was rich in flavonoids, phenols, organic acids, triterpenoid saponins, coumarins and terpenoids. This study aimed to investigate the antidepressant effect of PF using lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced depressive mice. Several behavior tests (sucrose preference test (SPT), forced swimming test (FST) and tail suspension test (TST)) and biochemical parameters (IL-6, TNF-α and SOD levels) were used to evaluate the antidepressive effect of PF on LPS-induced depression model. Furthermore, a UPLC-Q/TOF-MS-based metabolomics approach was applied to explore the latent mechanism of PF in attenuating depression. As a result, a total of 21 and 11 metabolites that potentially contribute to MDD progress and PF treatment were identified in serum and hippocampus, respectively. The analysis of metabolic pathways revealed that lipid metabolism, amino acid metabolism, energy metabolism, arachidonic acid metabolism, glutathione metabolism and inositol phosphate metabolism were disturbed in a model of mice undergoing MDD and PF treatment. These results help us to understand the pathogenesis of depression in depth, and to discover targets for clinical diagnosis and treatment. They also provide the possibility of developing PF into an anti-depressantive agent.

Multi-Evaluating Strategy for Siji-kangbingdu Mixture: Chemical Profiling, Fingerprint Characterization, and Quantitative Analysis

“…In Platycodonis radix , some platycodins existed with molecule weights of about 1200, but they were barely detected due to their low responses caused by their ionization properties. So, a mass detection range of 100–1000 m/z was adopted [33].…”

Protective Effect of Ocotillol, the Derivate of Ocotillol-Type Saponins in Panax Genus, against Acetic Acid-Induced Gastric Ulcer in Rats Based on Untargeted Metabolomics

“…While the M-ocotillol group showed a slight increase, both omeprazole and H-ocotillol groups showed a gradual increase. On the 7th day, the significant decreased weights of the model group were Metabolomics, a systematic study of the metabolites in biological samples, was prospective for discovering the pathways linked to disease processes and elucidating the mechanism of drugs [18][19][20]. Based on ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography combined with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTOF-MS), multivariate statistical analysis, such as principle component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal projections to latent structures discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA), was widely applied in metabolomics analysis to screen and identification of the functional metabolites.…”

GC-TOF-MS-Based Metabolomic Analysis and Evaluation of the Effects of HX106, a Nutraceutical, on ADHD-Like Symptoms in Prenatal Alcohol Exposed Mice

“…Metabolomics has been widely accepted as a useful tool to investigate altered metabolic pathways by analyzing the changes in small molecule metabolites (<650 Da) [ 14 ]. It can be applied to discover biomarkers, assess toxicity and explore efficacy and mechanisms of drugs containing multi-biochemical components [ 15 ]. This method provides an overview of the metabolic and biochemical pathways that enable to establish the basis of the pathophysiological and pharmacological understanding in multi-factorial neurological disorders, such as ADHD [ 14 , 15 ].…”

“…It can be applied to discover biomarkers, assess toxicity and explore efficacy and mechanisms of drugs containing multi-biochemical components [ 15 ]. This method provides an overview of the metabolic and biochemical pathways that enable to establish the basis of the pathophysiological and pharmacological understanding in multi-factorial neurological disorders, such as ADHD [ 14 , 15 ]. A number of studies have been conducted on several metabolic alterations, including amino acid and catecholamine metabolisms, in the serum or urine of ADHD patients [ 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 ].…”