Abstract
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.
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The data used to support the findings of this study are included within the article.
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Acknowledgements
We are particularly grateful to the Laboratory of Nutrition and Food Hygiene in Harbin Medical University, which is the key laboratory of Heilongjiang Province and Heilongjiang Higher Education Institutions.
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This study was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 82073537).
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The whole animal experiment process conformed to the guide for the care and use of laboratory animals of Harbin Medical University (Heilongjiang, China), and had been approved by the medical ethics committee of Harbin Medical University.
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Guan, T., Cao, C., Hou, Y. et al. Effects of quercetin on the alterations of serum elements in chronic unpredictable mild stress-induced depressed rats. Biometals 34, 589–602 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10534-021-00298-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10534-021-00298-w