ArticleNutrition (Burbank, Los Angeles County, Calif.)
St. John's Wort enhances the synaptic activity of the nucleus of the solitary tract.
Article in Nutrition (Burbank, Los Angeles County, Calif.). The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 18 citations in OpenAlex.
- Discovery of Personalized Treatment for Immuno-Metabolic Depression-Focus on 11beta Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenase Type 2 (11betaHSD2) and Toll-like Receptor 4 (TLR4) Inhibition with Enoxolone.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- The Pathogenesis and Medical Treatment of Depression: Opportunity and Challenge.Neurology international · 2025Review
- The Potential of Selected Plants and Their Biologically Active Molecules in the Treatment of Depression and Anxiety Disorders.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- St. John's wort extract Ze 117 alters the membrane fluidity of C6 glioma cells by influencing cellular cholesterol metabolism.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- St. John's wort (Hypericum perforatum) and depression: what happens to the neurotransmitter systems?Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology · 2022Review
- Article
- The Importance of Natural Antioxidants in the Treatment of Spinal Cord Injury in Animal Models: An Overview.Oxidative medicine and cellular longevity · 2019Review
- Hypericum perforatum Attenuates Spinal Cord Injury-Induced Oxidative Stress and Apoptosis in the Dorsal Root Ganglion of Rats: Involvement of TRPM2 and TRPV1 Channels.Molecular neurobiology · 2016Article
- NMDA receptors control vagal afferent excitability in the nucleus of the solitary tract.Brain research · 2015Article
- Artemisia santolinifolia enhances glutamatergic neurotransmission in the nucleus of the solitary tract.Neuroscience letters · 2014Article
- Botanicals and translational medicine: a paradigm shift in research approach.Nutrition (Burbank, Los Angeles County, Calif.)Article
- Hypericum perforatum chronic treatment affects cognitive parameters and brain neurotrophic factor levels.Revista brasileira de psiquiatria (Sao Paulo, Brazil : 1999)Article
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveSt. John's Wort (SJW) extract, which is commonly used to treat depression, inhibits the reuptake of several neurotransmitters, including glutamate, serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine. Glutamatergic visceral vagal afferents synapse upon neurons of the solitary tract (NST); thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate whether SJW extract modulates glutamatergic neurotransmission within the NST.
methodsWe used live cell calcium imaging to evaluate whether SJW and its isolated components hypericin and hyperforin increase the excitability of prelabeled vagal afferent terminals synapsing upon the NST. We used voltage-clamp recordings of spontaneous miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents (mEPSCs) to evaluate whether SJW alters glutamate release from vagal afferents onto NST neurons.
resultsOur imaging data show that SJW (50 μg/mL) increased the intracellular calcium levels of stimulated vagal afferent terminals compared with the bath control. This increase in presynaptic vagal afferent calcium by the extract coincides with an increase in neurotransmitter release within the nucleus of the solitary tract, as the frequency of mEPSCs is significantly higher in the presence of the extract compared with the control. Finally, our imaging data show that hyperforin, a known component of SJW extract, also significantly increases terminal calcium levels.
conclusionThese data suggest that SJW extract can significantly increase the probability of glutamate release from vagal afferents onto the NST by increasing presynaptic calcium. The in vitro vagal afferent synapse with NST neurons is an ideal model system to examine the mechanism of action of botanical agents on glutamatergic neurotransmission.
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