Regulatory effect mechanism of Eucommia ulmoides on postpartum depression in rats / 中国药房

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE To explore the effect mechanism of Eucommia ulmoides on improving postpartum depression in rats. METHODS Pregnant rats were randomly divided into normal group， postpartum depression group， and low-dose and high-dose groups of E. ulmoides （1.34， 2.68 g/kg， calculated by crude drug）， with 10 rats in each group. Except for the normal group， the rats in other groups suffered from fear stress to induce postpartum depression model during pregnancy； at the same time of modeling， the administration groups were given relevant medicine intragastrically， while the normal group and postpartum depression group were given physiological saline intragastrically for 21 days. Postpartum behaviors of rats during the experiment were assessed using the open field test， Morris water maze test and sucrose preference test. Additionally， the levels of corticosterone （CORT） in serum， corticotropin releasing factor （CRF） and urocortin （UCN） in hypothalamus， and adrenocorticotropic hormone （ACTH） in hypophysis were detected； meanwhile， the protein expressions of CRF receptor 1 （CRFR1）， CRFR2， and voltage-dependent anion channel 1 （VDAC1） in hippocampal tissue were measured； the proportions of apoptotic cells and JC-1 high potential cells in hippocampal tissue were determined， and the morphology of hippocampal tissue was observed. RESULTS Compared with postpartum depression group， the high-dose group of E. ulmoides showed improvements in appetite， mental state， and hair color in rats； their body weight had increased； the scores of vertical movement， horizontal movement and self-sorting significantly increased； from the 2ed to 4th day avoidance latency significantly shortened， and the times of crossing the platform and the time of crossing the platform Δ 基金项目国家自然科学基金青年基金项目（No.82204789） significantly increased/prolonged （P＜0.05）； the ratio of glucose and water consumption significantly increased at 20 days of pregnancy and 30 days postpartum （P＜0.05）； the levels of CRF， UCN， ACTH and CORT， phagocytic rate， protein expressions of CRFR2 and VDAC1， and the proportion of apoptosis cells in hippocampal tissue were decreased significantly （P＜0.05）； the proportion of JC-1 high potential cells significantly increased （P＜0.05）， and the phenomenon of edema around neuronal cells was significantly improved. CONCLUSIONS E. ulmoides can improve postpartum depression by inhibiting excessive activation of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis， decreasing the expression of CRFR2， thereby inhibiting the expression of VDAC1， and decreasing the apoptosis of neuronal cells.