Depression is a common and serious psychiatric disorder, but current conventional antidepressants have limited efficacy and significant side effects. Thus, better antidepressants are urgently needed. This study aimed to investigate the antidepressant-like effects and potential mechanism of quercetin by evaluating the changes of serum elements in chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) rats. Based on the results of the sucrose preference test (SPT), 96 rats were randomly assigned to six groups: control, different dosages of quercetin (10 and 50 mg/kg·bw, respectively), depressed, and different dosages quercetin plus depressed groups. After 8 weeks of CUMS modeling, rat serum was collected. Fifteen elements in serum were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), and related enzyme indicators, antioxidant indicators, and inflammatory cytokines were detected to further explore the potential mechanism. Besides, the accuracy and precision of the method were evaluated. The results showed that the levels of iron (Fe), copper (Cu), and calcium (Ca) in serum significantly increased (p ≤ 0.001), while the levels of magnesium (Mg), zinc (Zn), selenium (Se), and cobalt (Co) significantly decreased (p ≤ 0.001) in depressed group compared with the control group. The levels of the remaining eight elements did not change significantly. When high-dose quercetin was administered to depressed rats, the levels of the above seven elements significantly restored (p ≤ 0.001). This study suggests that quercetin (50 mg/kg·bw) has a regulatory effect on serum elements in CUMS rats, which may be mediated by reducing oxidative stress, inhibiting inflammation, and regulating a variety of neurotransmitter systems.

抑郁症是一种常见且严重的精神疾病，但目前的常规抗抑郁药疗效有限且副作用显着。因此，迫切需要更好的抗抑郁药。本研究旨在通过评估慢性不可预知轻度应激（CUMS）大鼠血清成分的变化，探讨槲皮素的抗抑郁样作用及其潜在机制。根据蔗糖偏好试验 (SPT) 的结果，将 96 只大鼠随机分为 6 组：对照组、不同剂量槲皮素（分别为 10 和 50 mg/kg·bw）、抑郁组和不同剂量槲皮素加抑郁组. CUMS建模8周后，收集大鼠血清。采用电感耦合等离子体质谱仪（ICP-MS）分析血清中的15种元素，相关酶指标、抗氧化指标、并检测炎性细胞因子以进一步探索潜在机制。此外，对该方法的准确度和精密度进行了评价。结果表明，血清中铁（Fe）、铜（Cu）和钙（Ca）水平显着升高（p≤0.001），而镁（Mg）、锌（Zn）、硒（Se）水平显着升高（p≤0.001）。 , 与对照组相比，抑郁组的钴 (Co) 显着降低 (p ≤ 0.001)。其余八种元素的含量没有明显变化。给抑郁大鼠大剂量槲皮素后，上述七种元素的水平显着恢复（p≤0.001）。本研究表明，槲皮素（50 mg/kg·bw）对 CUMS 大鼠血清元素具有调节作用，其可能通过降低氧化应激、抑制炎症、