Polysaccharide PSLP-1 from Polygonatum sibiricum Stems and Leaves Alleviates Depressive-like Behaviors and Modulates Gut Microbiota and Tryptophan Metabolism along the Gut-Brain Axis.
Huang J, Jiang Y, Zou Z, Qian Z, Su Y
Medicinal Plants
Those graceful arching stems of Solomon's Seal you cut back each fall — the parts most growers toss in the compost — turn out to contain a compound that eases depression-like symptoms in animal models by reshaping gut bacteria and nudging the body toward serotonin instead of stress hormones.
Siberian Solomon's Seal is a shade-garden plant whose underground stems (rhizomes) have been used in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries, but the above-ground stems and leaves are normally thrown away. Researchers pulled a natural sugar compound out of that plant waste and gave it to stressed mice, who then showed far fewer signs of despair. The compound worked by changing which bacteria lived in the mice's guts — boosting a beneficial microbe called Akkermansia — which in turn shifted the body away from a stress-inflammation pathway and toward making more serotonin, the brain chemical linked to calm and wellbeing.
Key Findings
A 4.287 kDa fructan polysaccharide (PSLP-1) isolated from Siberian Solomon's Seal stems and leaves significantly reduced immobility time in both the forced swim and tail suspension tests in chronically stressed mice
PSLP-1 suppressed the IDO1-mediated kynurenine pathway (linked to inflammation-driven depression) while promoting tryptophan hydroxylase activity to increase serotonin (5-HT) synthesis
PSLP-1 remodeled gut microbiota by increasing Akkermansia (a gut-barrier-protecting bacterium) and decreasing Lactobacillus and Alistipes
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists extracted a tiny sugar molecule from the stems and leaves of Siberian Solomon's Seal — parts usually discarded after rhizome harvest — and found it reversed depression-like behavior in stressed mice by rebalancing gut bacteria and boosting serotonin production.
Abstract Preview
The stems and leaves of Polygonatum sibiricum Red. are underused food byproducts whose polysaccharides and bioactivities remain poorly characterized. In this study, a novel homogeneous polysacchari...
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