Anxiolytic and antidepressant effects of agarwood inhalation and its mechanism / 中国中药杂志

This study used m-chloropheniperazine(MCPP) and chronic unforeseeable mild stress(CUMS) to induce the rat models of anxiety and depression, respectively. The behaviors of rats were observed by the open field test(OFT), light-dark exploration test(LDE), tail suspension test(TST), and forced swimming test(FST), and the antidepressant and anxiolytic effects of agarwood essential oil(AEO), agarwood fragrant powder(AFP), and agarwood line incense(ALI) were explored. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) was used to determine the levels of 5-hydroxytryptamine(5-HT), glutamic acid(Glu), and γ-aminobutyric acid(GABA_A) in the hippocampal area. The Western blot assay was used to determine the protein expression levels of glutamate receptor 1(GluR1) and vesicular glutamate transporter type 1(VGluT1), exploring the anxiolytic and antidepressant mechanism of agarwood inhalation. The results showed that compared with the anxiety model group, the AEO, AFP, and ALI groups decreased the total distance(P<0.05), decreased the velocity of movements(P<0.05), prolonged the immobile time(P<0.05), and reduced the distance and velocity of the rat model of anxiety in the dark box(P<0.05). Compared with the depression model group, the AEO, AFP, and ALI groups increased the total distance and average velocity(P<0.05), reduced the immobile time(P<0.05), and reduced the forced swimming and tail suspension time(P<0.05). In terms of transmitter regulation, the AEO, AFP, and ALI groups decreased the level of Glu in the rat model of anxiety(P<0.05) and increased the levels of GABA_A and 5-HT(P<0.05), while the AEO, AFP, and ALI groups all increased the level of 5-HT in the rat model of depression(P<0.05) and decreased the levels of GABA_A and Glu(P<0.05). At the same time, the AEO, AFP, and ALI groups all increased the protein expression levels of GluR1 and VGluT1 in the hippocampus of the rat models of anxiety and depression(P<0.05). In conclusion, AEO, AFP, and ALI exert anxiolytic and antidepressant effects, and the mechanism might be related to the regulation of the neurotransmitter and the protein expression of GluR1 and VGluT1 in the hippocampus.

Prediction and Analysis of the Components and Therapeutic Targets of Agarwood Essential Oil / 中国药学杂志

OBJECTIVE: To predict and analyze the chemical constituents-therapeutic targets of agarwood essential oil by network pharmacology. METHODS: First, the components of agarwood essential oil were determined and analyze by GC-MS and the compound database was built. Then, ADME and target prediction based on the structural data was performed by virtual computation. Finally, the predicted targets were classified and compared with the known therapeutic targets for sleep disorders, anxiety and depression-related diseases, so as to predict the therapeutic targets for diseases and construct the compound-therapeutic target-disease network. RESULTS: Agarwood essential oil can regulate the neural activity through ligand-receptor interaction pathway, cAMP signaling pathway, 5-hydroxytryptamine neural pathway, cholinergic neural pathway, dopaminergic neural pathway and other multiple pathways. Meanwhile, 11 compounds were screened out to have potential effects on 30 therapeutic targets related to insomnia, anxiety and depression. CONCLUSION: Agarwood essential oil has potential preventive and therapeutic effects on sleep disorders, anxiety, depression and other neurological diseases, which provides theoretical basis and data support for in-depth research and development of agarwood essential oil's sedative-hypnotic effects and its mechanism.

Anti-inflammatory Effect of Chinese Agarwood Essential Oil Via Inhibiting p-STAT3 and IL-1β/IL-6 / 中国药学杂志

OBJECTIVE: Eaglewood is a commonly used precious herbal medicine. Due to the multiple drug effects and shortage of medicinal resources, it is currently a hot research topic. Chinese agarwood essential oil (CEEO) is the main active ingredient of eaglewood. To investigate the anti-inflammatory effect and mechanism of CEEO. METHODS: The anti-inflammatory effect of CEEO was evaluated on xylene-induced ear edema in mice and carrageenan-induced paw swelling in rats. The production and transcription levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β and IL-6 were detected by ELISA or quantitative RT-PCR in LPS-activated RAW264.7 macrophages. The protein levels of p-transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) and p-IκBα/p-NF-κBp65 were detected by Western blot analysis. The chemical profiles of CEEO were identified by GC-MS. RESULTS: Intragastric administration with CEEO (60-960 mg•kg-1 in mice and 680 mg•kg-1 in rats) produced significant anti-inflammatory effect in vivo, the highest inhibition percentages were 73% and 51%, respectively (P<0.001). After treatment with CEEO (10, 5, and 2.5 μg•mL-1), ELISA and RT-PCR analysis showed that the production and mRNA level of IL-1β and IL-6 were attenuated by 68% and 39%, 64% and 52% (P<0.001), respectively, at the highest concentration. Western blot analysis showed that CEEO (680 mg•kg-1, ig) significantly restrained the phosphorylation of STAT3 by 21% (P<0.05). Totally 117 compounds were identified in CEEO by GC-MS analysis and the chemical analysis revealed that sesquiterpenoids were the major compounds (68.83%). CONCLUSION: This study shows for the first time that intragastric administration of CEEO has significant anti-inflammatory effect, which may be due to the suppression of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β and IL-6 by reducing the overexpression of p-STAT3, thereby inhibiting the occurrence and development of inflammation. The anti-inflammatory effect of CEEO may be related to the primary component sesquiterpenoids.