L. Cucurbita pepo Alleviates Chronic Unpredictable Mild Stress via Modulation of Apoptosis, Neurogenesis, and Gliosis in Rat Hippocampus

Abstract

Pumpkin has received significant attention due to its nutritional compounds that have antioxidant, antifatigue, and anti-inflammatory effects. This study is aimed at assessing the antidepressant-like effect of L. Cucurbita pepo, sweet pumpkin, in an animal model of chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) and investigating its effect on the histological structure of hippocampus compared to fluoxetine. Forty male albino rats assigned into the negative control, positive control (CUMS), and Flu-treated and pumpkin-treated groups ( n = 10 ) were utilized in this study. Exposing rats to CUMS continued for 28 days, and treatments used were applied during the last 14 days of exposure. Behavioral, biochemical, and histopathological changes were assessed after 28 days. In this study, pumpkin significantly reduced the immobility time ( p = 0.02 ), corticosterone ( p < 0.001 ), TNF-α, IL-6 ( p < 0.001 ), and malondialdehyde ( p = 0.003 ), whereas it significantly increased the level of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, and glutathione peroxidase (GPX) in the serum of rats exposed to CUMS. Pumpkin markedly relieved the degenerative and atrophic changes observed in the CA3 region and the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus. It significantly reduced caspase-3 and increased glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) immunoexpression in the CA3 and DG. In conclusion, administration of pumpkin extract improved the behavioral, biochemical, and hippocampal pathological alternations induced in rats after exposure to CUMS in a comparable pattern to fluoxetine. This study highlighted the potential efficacy of pumpkin in alleviating depression disorder either alone or in conjugation with conventional antidepressant therapy.

Prenatal stress increases corticosterone levels in offspring by impairing placental glucocorticoid barrier function

“…All rats were raised in standard experimental conditions. To recreate chronically stressful conditions, the chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) procedure was on the basis of a previously described method of minor amendments and supplements (Ayuob et al, 2021;Guan et al, 2021). PS group rats were exposed to one of seven different stressors was randomly chosen to stimulate daily for 4 weeks.…”