The antidepressant effect of 4-hydroxybenzyl alcohol 2-naphthoate through monoaminergic, GABAergic system and BDNF signaling pathway

Abstract

Gastrodigenin, also known as 4-hydroxybenzyl alcohol (HBA), is one of the main components of Gastrodia elata, which is a perfect lead compound of natural products. In order to get new active compounds, we modified the structure of HBA through esterification with carboxylic acid, and got a series of derivatives in which 4-hydroxybenzyl alcohol 2-naphthoate (NHBA) showed stronger antidepressant activity than HBA. In this paper, we firstly evaluated the antidepressant activity of NHBA by tail suspension test (TST) and forced swimming test (FST). Then, we carried out the biochemical assay and western blot to determine its mechanism. The results displayed that NHBA could increase the content of serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, γ-aminobutyric acid, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and tropomyosin receptor kinase B (TrkB) in mice brain. It suggested that NHBA exhibited an antidepressant-like effect through monoaminergic system, GABAergic system and BDNF/TrkB signaling pathways.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

Keywords:

• gastrodigenin
• antidepressant effect
• monoaminergic system
• BDNF/TrkB signaling pathways

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the [Science and Technology Development Program of Jilin Province] under Grant [20180520060JH]; [Jilin Provincial Education Department Fund Project] under Grant [JJKH20170321KJ]; [Jilin Provincial Key Scientific and Technological Project] under Grant [20170204017YY]; [The National Key Research and Development Project] under Grant [2016YFC0500300].