{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,14]],"date-time":"2026-10-14T21:09:17Z","timestamp":1792012157196,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,3,16]],"date-time":"2023-03-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1678924800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Pharmacol."],"abstract":"<jats:p>Major depressive disorder is one of the most common neuropsychiatric diseases and it is a global public health problem that leads to disabilities. Currently, there is a growing need to explore novel strategy to cure major depressive disorder due to the limitation of available treatments. Rannasangpei (RSNP) is a traditional Tibetan medicine which acts as a therapeutic agent in various acute or chronic diseases, including cardiovascular diseases and neurodegenerative diseases. Crocin-1 a coloring ingredient of saffron which exhibited anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory properties. Here, we aimed to illustrate whether RSNP and its active ingredient crocin-1 rescue depressive-like phenotypes in chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) induced mouse model of depression. Our results showed that peripheral administration of RSNP or crocin-1 ameliorated the depressive-like behaviors in CUMS-treated mice, as demonstrated by the forced swimming test and tail suspension test. Furthermore, RSNP or crocin-1 treatment reduced oxidative stress in the peripheral blood and hippocampus of the CUMS-treated mice. Additionally, the dysregulated immune system response, as demonstrated by the increased expression of the pro-inflammatory factors (tumor necrosis factor-\u03b1 and interleukin-6) and the decreased expression of the anti-inflammatory factor-interleukin-10 in the prefrontal cortex and\/or hippocampus of CUMS-treated mice, were at least partially restored by RSNP or crocin-1 treatment. RSNP or crocin-1 also restored apoptotic protein marker (Bcl-2 and Bax) levels in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus of the CUMS-treated mice. Moreover, our data indicated that RSNP or crocin-1 increased astrocyte number and brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels in the hippocampus of CUMS-treated mice after RSNP or crocin-1 administration. Taken together, our study for the first time revealed an anti-depressant effect of RSNP and its active ingredient crocin-1 in a mouse model of depression, with involvement of oxidative stress, inflammatory response and apoptotic pathway.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fphar.2023.1143286","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,3,16]],"date-time":"2023-03-16T04:25:46Z","timestamp":1678940746000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":22,"title":["Anti-depressant-like effects of rannasangpei and its active ingredient crocin-1 on chronic unpredictable mild stress mice"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Yang","family":"Du","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yan-Li","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lei","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Qi-En","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yong","family":"Cheng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,3,16]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"308","DOI":"10.1038\/s41380-019-0597-8","article-title":"MicroRNA mediators of early life stress vulnerability to depression and suicidal behavior","volume":"25","author":"Allen","year":"2020","journal-title":"Mol. 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