Agarwood Essential Oil Displays Sedative-Hypnotic Effects through the GABAergic System
Shuai Wang 1,2
, Canhong Wang 3,4, Deqian Peng 5, Xinmin Liu 6, Chongming Wu 6, Peng Guo 6,* and Jianhe Wei 1,2,3,4,*
, Canhong Wang 3,4, Deqian Peng 5, Xinmin Liu 6, Chongming Wu 6, Peng Guo 6,* and Jianhe Wei 1,2,3,4,*
1
Key Laboratory of Bioactive Substances and Resources Utilization of Chinese Herbal Medicine, Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100193, China
2
Ministry of Education & National Engineering Laboratory for Breeding of Endangered Medicinal Materials, Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100193, China
3
Hainan Provincial Key Laboratory of Resources Conservation and Development of Southern Medicine, Hainan Branch of the Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Haikou 570311, China
4
Key Laboratory of State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine for Agarwood Sustainable Utilization, Hainan Branch of the Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Haikou 570311, China
5
School of Pharmacy, Hainan Medical College, Haikou 571199, China
6
Pharmacology and toxicology center, Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100193, China
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Molecules 2017, 22(12), 2190; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules22122190
Received: 8 November 2017 / Revised: 29 November 2017 / Accepted: 4 December 2017 / Published: 9 December 2017
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biological Activity of Secondary Metabolites)
Abstract
Although agarwood has been used as a tranquilizer in Asian countries for hundreds of years, the underlying pharmacological basis is still unclear. This study investigated the sedative-hypnotic effect of agarwood essential oil (AEO) using locomotor activity and pentobarbital-induced sleeping assays in mice. Single (1-day) and multiple (7- and 14-days) administrations of 60 mg/kg AEO generated significant sedative effect on inhibiting locomotor activity and hypnotic effect on pentobarbital-induced sleeping in mice. Interestingly, prolonged AEO treatment did not result in obvious desensitization. Concoitant measurement of the levels of brain neurotransmitters using ultrafast liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UFLC-MS/MS) indicated that AEO had no significant effect on the levels of glutamic acid (Glu) and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the brain. However, the sedative-hypnotic effects were blocked by the type A GABA (GABAA) receptor antagonists bicuculline and flumazenil. In addition, AEO significantly elevated the expression of GABAA receptor subunits and subtypes in the cerebral cortex. Furthermore, AEO increased chlorine ion (Cl−) influx through GABAA receptors in human neuroblastoma cells. These results together demonstrate that AEO exerts its sedative-hypnotic effects through regulating gene expression of GABAA receptors and potentiating GABAA receptor function. View Full-Text
Graphical abstract
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited (CC BY 4.0).
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Wang, S.; Wang, C.; Peng, D.; Liu, X.; Wu, C.; Guo, P.; Wei, J. Agarwood Essential Oil Displays Sedative-Hypnotic Effects through the GABAergic System. Molecules 2017, 22, 2190.
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