<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
Affiliations
Jihye Lee
Division of Endocrinology, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41944, Korea
Huiyoung Kwon
Department of Health Sciences, The Graduate School of Dong-A University, Dong-A University, Busan 49315, Korea
Eunbi Cho
Department of Pharmacology and Department of Advanced Translational Medicine, School of Medicine, Konkuk University, Seoul 05029, Korea
Jieun Jeon
Department of Pharmacology and Department of Advanced Translational Medicine, School of Medicine, Konkuk University, Seoul 05029, Korea
In-Kyu Lee
Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University Hospital, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41944, Korea
Wan-Seob Cho
Department of Health Sciences, The Graduate School of Dong-A University, Dong-A University, Busan 49315, Korea
Se Jin Park
Department of Food Biotechnology and Environmental Science, School of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Korea
Seungheon Lee
Department of Marine Life Sciences, Jeju National University, Jeju 63243, Korea
Dong Hyun Kim
Department of Pharmacology and Department of Advanced Translational Medicine, School of Medicine, Konkuk University, Seoul 05029, Korea
Ji Wook Jung
Department of Herbal Medicinal Pharmacology, College of Herbal Bio-Industry, Daegu Haany University, Kyungsan 38610, Korea
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.