Antioxidants (Jan 2022)

<i>Hydrangea macrophylla</i> and Thunberginol C Attenuate Stress-Induced Anxiety in Mice

  • Jihye Lee,
  • Huiyoung Kwon,
  • Eunbi Cho,
  • Jieun Jeon,
  • In-Kyu Lee,
  • Wan-Seob Cho,
  • Se Jin Park,
  • Seungheon Lee,
  • Dong Hyun Kim,
  • Ji Wook Jung

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox11020234
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11, no. 2
p. 234

Abstract

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Stress is an important neurological input for successful life. However, chronic stress and stress hormones could be a cause of various neurological disorders including anxiety disorders. Therefore, there have been many efforts to find effective materials for curing stress-induced neurological disorders. In this study, we examined the effect of Hydrangea macrophylla (HM) on corticosterone-induced neurotoxicity, stress-induced anxiety in mice and suggested a possible active ingredient of HM. HM protected cortical neurons against neurotoxicity of corticosterone (CORT), a stress hormone. HM also blocked CORT-induced hippocampal synaptic deficit via regulating Akt signaling. Oral administration of HM improved chronic restraint stress-induced anxiety in Elevated Plus maze test along with reduction of plasma corticosterone and TNF-α levels. Moreover, HM reduced stress-induced neuroinflammation and oxidative stress. Thunberginol C, an active ingredient of HM, also prevented CORT-induced neuronal cell death and restraint stress-induced anxiety. Moreover, thunberginol C reduced plasma TNF-α level and neuroinflammation and oxidative stress. Collectively, HM could be a good candidate for preventing stress-induced neurological disorders and thunberginol C may be an active ingredient of HM for this purpose.

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