Buyang Huanwu Decoction ameliorates anxiety-like behaviors in mice by inhibiting neuroinflammation and excessive synaptic activation in the amygdala
LU Beining
JIANG Yongli
YAN Yuxuan
MA Xue
YUE Jiao
GUO Qingjuan
WANG Xinshang
LIU Shuibing
Abstract：Objective To investigate the ameliorative effect of Buyang Huanwu Decoction(BHD)on stress-induced anxiety-like behaviors in mice,as well as its underlying mechanisms based on neuroinflammation and synaptic plasticity in the amygdala(Amy).Methods Forced swimming stress was used to establish a mouse anxiety model.Male C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into seven groups:normal control group,normal control plus high-dose BHD group,model group,model plus low/medium/high-dose BHD groups,and model plus diazepam positive control group.Anxiety-like behaviors were evaluated by the open field test and elevated plus maze test.Western blotting and qRT-PCR techniques were employed to detect the expression levels of microglial marker(Iba1),astrocyte marker(GFAP),inflammatory factors(IL-6,IL-1β,TNF-α),and synaptic plasticity-related proteins(PSD95,Drebrin,GluA1 and its phosphorylation sites S831/S845,GluN2B and its phosphorylation sites S1303/T1472)in the Amy of mice.Results Compared with the control group,mice in the model group exhibited significant anxiety-like behaviors(P<0.01).Meanwhile,the protein expressions of Iba1 and GFAP,as well as the mRNA expressions of IL-6,IL-1β and TNF-α in the Amy were significantly upregulated(P<0.01);the expressions of postsynaptic proteins(PSD95,Drebrin),glutamate receptor subunits(GluA1,GluN2B)and their key phosphorylation levels were also significantly increased(P<0.05,P<0.01).Pretreatment with BHD dose-dependently reversed the above behavioral abnormalities,with the best effect observed in the high-dose group(P<0.01),and simultaneously inhibited the activation of glial cells,the release of inflammatory factors,and the abnormally high expression of synaptic plasticity-related proteins in the Amy.Conclusion BHD may ameliorate stress-induced anxiety-like behaviors in mice by inhibiting the activation of glial cells in the Amy,alleviating local neuroinflammatory responses,and regulating the expression of synaptic plasticity-related proteins.This study provides reliable experimental evidence for the clinical application of BHD in the treatment of anxiety-related diseases.
Keywords：Buyang Huanwu Decoctionanxietystressamygdalaneuroinflammationsynaptic plasticityglial cellsglutamate receptors
Publication Date：2026-05-31
Online Publishing Date：2026-08-26(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：9( 698-706 )