Herbs play a vital function in sustaining the homeostatic balance of the hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenal (HPA) axis and hypothalamic‐pituitary‐gonadal (HPG) axis. The purpose of this study was to explore the impacts of Morinda officinalis oligosaccharides (MOO) on endocrine function in mice with corticosterone (CORT)‐induced depressive‐like behaviors. Male SPF‐grade mice received subcutaneous injections of CORT for 35 days. During this period, different concentrations of MOO were concurrently administered by gavage. On the 36th day, alterations in behaviors were evaluated using the open field test (OFT), tail suspension test (TST), and sexual behavior test, and the concentrations of hormones related to HPA and HPG axes were measured via enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Long‐term CORT intervention reduced body weight and disturbed metabolic homeostasis, and depressive‐like behavior and sexual dysfunction were observed in behavioral tests, which were reversed by MOO. CORT induction remarkably elevated the levels of hypothalamic corticotropin‐producing testosterone, serum adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), and CORT and perturbed the levels of hypothalamic gonadotropin‐releasing hormone (GnRH), serum hormone that stimulates follicles, and the hormone luteinizing, all of which were normalized following MOO administration. Furthermore, MOO can increase the expression level of neurotrophic factors and inhibit astrocyte activation. In addition, spermatogenesis regulated by hormones, as well as sperm morphology and viability, were significantly altered. MOO administration mitigated the adverse effects on the endocrine system in CORT‐induced depressive mice and reversed the abnormalities in hormone levels related to the HPA and HPG axes.
Liu et al. (Thu,) studied this question.