Ethnopharmacological relevance: Moringa leaves have been used for thousands of years to maintain skin health and mental fitness. People also use it to relieves pain and stress.
Aim of the study: To determine the effects of Moringa oleifera leaves ethanol-aqueous (ratio 7:3) extract (MOLE) on the chronically stressed zebrafish.
Method: The changes in the stress-related behaviour and the metabolic pathways in response to MOLE treatment in zebrafish were studied. A chronic unpredictable stress model was adopted in which zebrafish were induced with different stressors for 14 days. Stress-related behaviour was assessed using a depth-preference test and a light and dark test. Three doses of MOLE (500, 1000, and 2000 mg/L) were administered to the zebrafish. Upon sacrifice, the brains were harvested and processed for LC-MS QTOF based, global metabolomics analysis.
Results: We observed significant changes in the behavioural parameters, where the swimming time at the light phase and upper phase of the tank were increased in the chronically stressed zebrafish treated with MOLE compared to those zebrafish which were not treated. Further, distinctive metabolite profiles were observed in zebrafish with different treatments. Several pathways that shed light on effects of MOLE were identified. MOLE is believed to relieve stress by regulating pathways that are involved in the metabolism of purine, glutathione, arginine and proline, D-glutamine, and D-glutamate.
Conclusion: MOLE is potentially an effective stress reliever. However, its effects in human needs to be confirmed with a systematic randomised control trial.
Keywords: Anti-anxiety; Behaviour; Metabolomics; Moringa oleifera; Zebrafish.
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