Sesamol ameliorates dextran sulfate sodium-induced depression-like and anxiety-like behaviors in colitis mice: the potential involvement of the gut–brain axis

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is accompanied by some psychiatric disorders, including anxiety and depression. Sesamol has been reported to alleviate colitis symptoms and depression-like behaviors caused by chronic unpredictable mild stress, but its protective effect and underlying neurobiological mechanism on IBD induced by dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) accompanying depression-like and anxiety-like behaviors remains still unclear. Here, we found that a six-week sesamol treatment (100 mg per kg bodyweight per day) for DSS-induced mice predominantly prevented inflammatory response, epithelial barrier dysfunction and depression-like and anxiety-like behaviors via the gut-brain axis. Sesamol alleviated neuroinflammatory responses via suppressing the TLR-4/NF-κB pathway, protected against oxidative stress and upregulated the Nrf2 antioxidant signaling pathway. Moreover, sesamol treatment improved brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) by upregulating the BDNF/TrkB/CREB signaling pathway, restored synaptic impairments and enhanced norepinephrine (NE) and serotonin (5-HT) levels. Importantly, the correlation analysis showed that the gut barrier and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) content in the serum were highly associated with behavioral performance and the biochemical indexes of the brain. In summary, the present study indicates that sesamol is a novel nutritional intervention strategy for preventing IBD and its symptoms of anxiety and depression.