Exploring Chemical Constituent Distribution in Blood/Brain（Hippocampus） and Emotional Regulatory Effect of Raw and Vinegar-processed Products of Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium Viride
10.13422/j.cnki.syfjx.20251861
- VernacularTitle:青皮醋制前后化学成分血、脑（海马）分布特征及其调节情绪障碍作用考察
- Author:
Yi BAO
1
;
Yonggui SONG
1
;
Qianmin LI
1
;
Zhifu AI
1
;
Genhua ZHU
1
;
Ming YANG
1
;
Huanhua XU
1
;
Qin ZHENG
1
;
Yiting HUANG
1
;
Zihan GAO
1
;
Dan SU
1
Author Information
1. Key Laboratory of Depression Animal Model Based on Traditional Chinese Medicine（TCM） Syndrome of Jiangxi Province Administration of TCM，Key Research Office for Evaluation of TCM Efficacy （Prevention and Treatment of Mental Disorders and Brain Diseases） of Jiangxi Province Administration of TCM， Jiangxi University of Chinese Medicine，Nanchang 330004，China
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium Viride;
vinegar processing;
chemical composition;
blood;
hippocampus;
peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha（PPARα）;
anxiety;
depression
- From:
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae
2026;32(2):189-197
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
ObjectiveTo investigate the migration and distribution characteristics of chemical constituents in blood and hippocampal tissues before and after vinegar processing of Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium Viride（CRPV）， and to explore the potential material basis and mechanisms underlying their regulatory effects on emotional disorders by comparing the effects of raw and vinegar-processed products of CRPV. MethodsUltra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry（UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS） was employed to characterize and identify the chemical constituents of raw and vinegar-processed products of CRPV extracts， as well as their migrating components in blood and hippocampal tissues after oral administration. Reference standards， databases， and relevant literature were utilized for compound annotation， with data processing performed using PeakView 1.2 software. Seventy male C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into seven groups， including the blank group， model group， diazepam group（2.5 mg·kg-1）， raw CRPV low/high dose groups（0.6， 1.2 g·kg-1）， and vinegar-processed CRPV low/high dose groups（0.6， 1.2 g·kg-1）， with 10 mice per group. Except for the blank group， all other groups underwent chronic restraint stress（2 h·d-1） for 20 d. Each drug-treated group received oral administration at the predetermined dose starting 10 d after modeling， with a total treatment duration of 10 d. Following model-based drug administration， mice underwent open-field， forced swimming， and elevated plus maze tests. After anesthesia with isoflurane， whole brains were collected from each group of mice， and hippocampi were dissected. Reactive oxygen species（ROS） level in hippocampal tissues was quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay（ELISA）. Hematoxylin-eosin（HE） staining was used to observe hippocampal tissue morphology. Immunofluorescence was performed to detect neuronal nuclei（NeuN） and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha（PPARα） expressions in hippocampal tissue. Then， pharmacodynamic evaluations were conducted to assess the effects of raw and vinegar-processed CRPV on mood disorders， exploring the potential mechanisms. ResultsVinegar processing caused significant changes in the chemical composition of CRPV， with 18 components showing increased relative content and 35 components showing decreased relative content. The primary changes occurred in flavonoid compounds， including 20 flavonoids， 20 flavonoid glycosides， 3 triterpenes， 3 phenolic acids， 1 alkaloid， and 6 other compounds. Twenty-one components were detected in blood（15 methoxyflavones， 4 flavonoid glycosides， and 2 phenolic acids）， with 17 shared between raw and vinegar-processed CRPV. Seven components reached hippocampal tissues（all common to both forms）. In regulating emotional disorders， Vinegar-processed CRPV exhibited superior antidepressant-like effects compared to raw products. HE staining revealed that both treatments improved hippocampal neuronal morphology， particularly in the damaged CA1 and CA3 regions. Immunofluorescence and ELISA analyses demonstrated that both raw and vinegar-processed CRPV significantly modulated NeuN and PPARα expressions in hippocampal tissue while alleviating oxidative stress induced by excessive ROS（P<0.05）. ConclusionThe chemical composition of CRPV undergoes changes after vinegar processing， but the migrating components in blood and hippocampus are primarily methoxyflavonoids. These components may serve as the potential material basis for activating the PPARα pathway， thereby negatively regulating ROS generation in the hippocampus， reducing oxidative stress， and promoting the development of NeuN-positive neurons. These findings provide experimental evidence for enhancing quality standards， pharmacodynamic material research， and active drug development of raw and vinegar-processed CRPV.
