Intervention effect of auricular acupuncture combined with Yueju Pills on depressed rats
QIAO Zhi1, YAO Min2, LAN Peng3, HUANG Yanlin4, WU Lei1, ZHU Yujin3
1. Department of Rehabilitation Medicine and Physical Therapy, 2. Department of Characteristics Medicine, 3. Department of Internal Medicine, 4. Department of Medical Psychology,Tianjin Municipal Corps Hospital of Chinese People's Armed Police Force,Tianjin 300162,China
Abstract：Objective To investigate the effects of auricular acupuncture combined with Yueju Pills on the behavior, brain-derived neurotrophic factor （BDNF）, tyrosine kinase B （TrkB）, cAMP response element binding protein （CREB）, soluble epoxide hydrolase （sEH） and hippocampus of depressed rats. Methods A total of 50 SD rats were selected,ten of which were used as blank control group A, and the remaining 40 rats were established as depression rat models and randomly divided into 4 groups,namely a model group (group B),an auricular acupuncture group (group C),a Yueju pill group (group E) and an auricular acupuncture combined with Yueju pill group (group E) , with 10 rats in each group . Behavioral experiments were conducted respectively after modeling and intervention to evaluate the depressive state of rats. Plasma BDNF and sEH were measured by ELISA kit. Hematoxylin-eosin staining (HE) was used to observe the morphological changes of rat hippocampus. The contents of BDNF,TrkB and CREB in hippocampus of rats were detected by real-time PCR and Western blot. Results After modeling,the body weight of group B, C, D and E significantly decreased,the sucrose preference rate significantly decreased,and the immobility time of behavioral experiment significantly increased. The results of HE staining showed that the structure of hippocampal neurons in depressed rats was damaged,and the expression of BDNF,TrkB and CREB mRNA and protein significantly decreased （P<0.05）. Compared with group B,the body weight of the rats in groups C, D and E significantly increased, the sucrose preference rate of the rats significantly increased,the immobility time was significantly reduced, the structure of hippocampal neurons was significantly restored,and the expression of BDNF,TrkB,CREB mRNA and protein was increased. The differences were all statistically significant（P<0.05）. Conclusion The study confirmed the antidepressant effect of auricular acupuncture and Yueju Pills,and clarified the superiority of auricular acupuncture combined with Yueju pills in improving the exercise ability,exercise willingness,learning ability and spatial memory ability of depressed rats. It provides experimental basis for the development of new diagnostic tools for depression.
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2025, Vol. 36 
