Metabonomic Study on the Antidepressant-Like Effects of Banxia Houpu Decoction and Its Action Mechanism

The aim of this study was to establish an experimental model for metabonomic profiles of the rat's brain and then to investigate the antidepressant effect of Banxia Houpu decoction (BHD) and its possible mechanisms. Behavioral research and metabonomics method based on UPLC-MS were used to assess the efficacy of different fractions of BHD on chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) model of depression. There was a significant difference between the BHD group and the model group. Eight endogenous metabolites, which are contributing to the separation of the model group and control group, were detected, while BHD group regulated the perturbed metabolites showing that there is a tendency of recovery compared to control group. Therefore, we think that those potential metabolite biomarkers have some relationship with BHD's antidepression effect. This work appraised the antidepressant effect of Banxia Houpu decoction as well as revealing a metabonomics method, a valuable parameter in the TCM research.