Effects of Chailong Jieyu Pill on Behavior, Monoamine Neurotransmitters, and Corticosteroid Receptors in a Rat Model of Anxiety Disorder

Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, May 2018

Chailong Jieyu Pill (CJP) is composed of Radix Bupleuri, Radix Scutellariae, Rhizoma Pinelliae Preparata, Radix Codonopsis, Radix Glycyrrhizae preparata, keel, Concha Ostreae, Concha Margaritifera Usta, Rhizoma Zingiberis Recens, and Fructus Jujubae. CJP has shown good clinical effects on improving anxiety disorders. However, as the mechanism underlying such benefits remains unclear, the aim of this study was to investigate the mechanism of action for CJP on anxiety-related behaviors in a rat model of anxiety disorder. After establishing a rat model of anxiety disorder using uncertain empty bottle stimulation, rats were divided into control, model, citalopram, low-dose CJP, and high-dose CJP groups. After 1 month of administration, effects of treatments on rat appearance, body weight, and open-field test scores were observed. In addition, hippocampal monoamine neurotransmitter (5-hydroxytryptamine, dopamine, and norepinephrine) contents were measured with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and mRNA expression of mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) and glucocorticoid receptor (GR) were measured with reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. CJP increased rat weight, and this effect was increased in the high-dose CJP group compared with the citalopram group (P < 0.05). CJP also elevated open-field test scores compared with the citalopram group (P < 0.05). While CJP decreased monoamine neurotransmitter contents in rat hippocampus, the regulatory effect of CJP on 5-hydroxytryptamine was reduced compared with citalopram (P < 0.01). CJP upregulated GR mRNA expression in both low-dose (P < 0.05) and high-dose (P < 0.01) CJP groups, but only the latter significantly downregulated MR mRNA expression and showed enhanced effects compared with citalopram (P < 0.05). Thus, CJP likely exerted its significant antianxiety effect by diminishing monoamine neurotransmitters and regulating mRNA expression of MR and GR in the hippocampus of our rat model of anxiety disorder.

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Effects of Chailong Jieyu Pill on Behavior, Monoamine Neurotransmitters, and Corticosteroid Receptors in a Rat Model of Anxiety Disorder

Effects of Chailong Jieyu Pill on Behavior, Monoamine Neurotransmitters, and Corticosteroid Receptors in a Rat Model of Anxiety Disorder Guang-kui Feng,1 Xian-jun Ma,1 Yin-yi Chen,1 Guang-rong Bian,1 Chao Yang,2 and Bao-dong Gu1 1Department of Encephalopathy, Lianyungang Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Lianyungang 222004, China 2Department of Rehabilitation, Wuhan No. 1 Hospital, Wuhan 430000, China Correspondence should be addressed to Guang-kui Feng; moc.361@kgfgyl Received 22 January 2018; Revised 21 April 2018; Accepted 7 May 2018; Published 31 May 2018 Academic Editor: Youn C. Kim Copyright © 2018 Guang-kui Feng et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Abstract Chailong Jieyu Pill (CJP) is composed of Radix Bupleuri, Radix Scutellariae, Rhizoma Pinelliae Preparata, Radix Codonopsis, Radix Glycyrrhizae preparata, keel, Concha Ostreae, Concha Margaritifera Usta, Rhizoma Zingiberis Recens, and Fructus Jujubae. CJP has shown good clinical effects on improving anxiety disorders. However, as the mechanism underlying such benefits remains unclear, the aim of this study was to investigate the mechanism of action for CJP on anxiety-related behaviors in a rat model of anxiety disorder. After establishing a rat model of anxiety disorder using uncertain empty bottle stimulation, rats were divided into control, model, citalopram, low-dose CJP, and high-dose CJP groups. After 1 month of administration, effects of treatments on rat appearance, body weight, and open-field test scores were observed. In addition, hippocampal monoamine neurotransmitter (5-hydroxytryptamine, dopamine, and norepinephrine) contents were measured with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and mRNA expression of mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) and glucocorticoid receptor (GR) were measured with reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. CJP increased rat weight, and this effect was increased in the high-dose CJP group compared with the citalopram group (P < 0.05). CJP also elevated open-field test scores compared with the citalopram group (P < 0.05). While CJP decreased monoamine neurotransmitter contents in rat hippocampus, the regulatory effect of CJP on 5-hydroxytryptamine was reduced compared with citalopram (P < 0.01). CJP upregulated GR mRNA expression in both low-dose (P < 0.05) and high-dose (P < 0.01) CJP groups, but only the latter significantly downregulated MR mRNA expression and showed enhanced effects compared with citalopram (P < 0.05). Thus, CJP likely exerted its significant antianxiety effect by diminishing monoamine neurotransmitters and regulating mRNA expression of MR and GR in the hippocampus of our rat model of anxiety disorder. 1. Introduction The incidence of anxiety disorder is increasing yearly, with a lifetime prevalence of anxiety disorder of approximately 4.1% in China [1] and up to 30% in Europe [2]. Anxiety disorder is mainly induced by emotional discomfort, depression, and stagnation of qi. Indeed, stagnation of liver qi and qi stagnation are key for pathogenesis. Dispersing stagnated liver qi to relieve qi stagnation is the basic principle of treatment. Our hospital preparation, Chailong Jieyu Pill (CJP), was approved and licensed by Jiangsu Province Hospital in 2004. CJP can disperse depressed liver energy, regulate vital energy, clear liver heat, invigorate the spleen to remove phlegm, and suppress, tranquilize, and calm adverse-rising energy. Through 10 years of clinical practice, we have discovered that CJP elicits good clinical effects for improving anxiety and insomnia. This includes a study using a placebo control, whereby 61 anxiety patients were observed using a randomized double-blind method. HAMA and self-made Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) symptom scales were utilized to assess symptoms before and after treatment, while the Treatment Emergent Symptom Scale (TESS) was applied to evaluate adverse reactions. Results of a 6-week observation period demonstrated that CJP could improve HAMA and self-made TCM symptom scale scores. Moreover, effects were significant at 2, 4, and 6 weeks, indicating a progressive effect compared with the placebo group. Importantly, the effective rate was 93.1% and no adverse reactions were observed [3]. CJP is composed of Radix Bupleuri, Radix Scutellariae, Rhizoma Pinelliae Preparata, Radix Codonopsis, Radix Glycyrrhizae preparata, keel, Concha Ostreae, Concha Margaritifera Usta, Rhizoma Zingiberis Recens, and Fructus Jujubae. Modern research has confirmed that saikoside, an important component of Radix Bupleuri, plays a role in cholinergic effects and regulates the digestive and nervous systems by suppressing cholinesterase [4]. Moreover, Radix Bupleuri decoction elicited improvements in physical symptoms, depression, and irritability [5, 6], whic (...truncated)


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Guang-kui Feng, Xian-jun Ma, Yin-yi Chen, Guang-rong Bian, Chao Yang, Bao-dong Gu. Effects of Chailong Jieyu Pill on Behavior, Monoamine Neurotransmitters, and Corticosteroid Receptors in a Rat Model of Anxiety Disorder, Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2018, 2018, DOI: 10.1155/2018/5489215