酸枣仁水提物对焦虑大鼠症状的改善及其对肠道菌群的影响

Improvement in Symptoms of Anxiety in Rats by Aqueous Extract of Semen Ziziphi Spinosae and Its Effect on the Intestinal Flora

摘要:

选用慢性温和不可预知应激大鼠模型，探究酸枣仁水提物缓解焦虑症状的潜在作用机制。以行为学（糖水偏好率、旷场得分、暗处所处时间）及肠道菌群为参考指标，研究酸枣仁水提物对焦虑模型大鼠的行为、肠道菌群多样性、结构及组成的影响。结果显示，与模型组（CUMS）组相比，酸枣仁（SZS）组显著改善了慢性压力诱导的焦虑行为（糖水消偏好率及旷场得分显著增加，在暗箱中所处的时间显著减少）；SZS组肠道菌群的alpha多样性显著升高（p<0.05），且菌群结构显著偏离CUMS组；进一步探究发现，相比于CUMS组，SZS组中Lactobacillus（CUMS：29.42%；SZS：8.08%；p=0.003）和Ruminococcaceae_UCG-014（CUMS：3.30%；SZS：2.14%；p=0.04）的丰度显著降低，而Bacteroides（CUMS：2.23%；SZS：5.15%；p=0.001）、norank_o_Mollicutes_RF9（CUMS：1.01%；SZS：2.43%；p=0.019）、Ruminiclostridium_9（CUMS：0.42%；SZS：0.62%；p=0.034）、Parabacteroides（CUMS：0.35%；SZS：0.60%；p=0.011）、Butyricimonas（CUMS：0.01%；SZS：0.03%；p=0.018）及Acetatifactor（CUMS：0.01%；SZS：0.03%；p=0.001）的丰度显著升高。结果表明，酸枣仁可改善CUMS大鼠焦虑相关症状，且影响了CUMS大鼠的肠道菌群结构，为明确其潜在作用机制提供了理论依据。

Abstract:

The model of rats suffering from chronic, mild and unpredictable stress was used to explore the potential mechanism underlying the anxiety symptoms-alleviating effect of an aqueous extract of Semen Ziziphi Spinosae. Using reference indices associated with behaviors (sucrose preference rate, open field score, and time spent in the dark zone) and the intestinal flora, the effects of the aqueous extract of Semen ZiziphiSpinosae on the behaviors, and intestinal flora diversity, structure and composition in anxious model rats were studied. The results showed that compared with the model group (CUMS) group, chronic administration of Semen Ziziphi Spinosae significantly ameliorated chronic stress-induced aanxiety-like behaviors in rats (sugar water preference rate and open field score increased significantly, while the time spent in the dark box significantly decreased). The alpha diversity of the intestinal flora for the SZS group significantly increased (p<0.05), with the flora structure of the SZS group significantly different from the CUMS group. Further investigation revealed that the SZS group had significantly lower abundance of Lactobacillus (CUMS: 29.42%; SZS: 8.08%; p=0.003) and Ruminococcaceae_UCG-014 (CUMS: 3.30%; SZS: 2.14%; p=0.04), but higher abundance of Bacteroides (CUMS: 2.23%; SZS: 5.15%; p=0.001), norank_o_Mollicutes_RF9 (CUMS: 1.01%; SZS: 2.43%; p=0.019), Ruminiclostridium_9 (CUMS: 0.42%; SZS: 0.62%; p=0.034), Parabacteroides (CUMS: 0.35%; SZS: 0.60%; p=0.011), Butyricimonas (CUMS: 0.01%; SZS: 0.03%; p=0.018) and Acetatifactor (CUMS: 0.01%; SZS: 0.03%; p=0.001), compared with the CUMS group. These results indicated that Semen Ziziphi Spinosae could alleviate the anxiety-related symptoms in CUMS rats and affect their intestinal flora structure, which provides a theoretical basis for the potential working mechanism.