Yokukansan, a herbal medicine in Japan, buffers social crowding stress via ameliorating glucocorticoid secretion response to vasopressin

Abstract

On the basis of the data that yokukansan (YKS), a herbal medicine, ameliorates aggressive behavior and abnormal glucocorticoid secretion of socially isolated mice under zinc deficiency, we tested whether YKS preventively buffers crowding stress-induced attenuations of glucocorticoid secretion response and long-term potentiation (LTP), an index of cognition. YKS-containing water was administered during the period of exposure to social crowding stress for 3 weeks. Serum corticosterone level was not significantly modified by administration of YKS-containing water and was also not increased after social-crowding stress. When vasopressin was injected into crowding-stressed rats to assess corticosterone secretion via pituitary–adore-nocortical axis activation, vasopressin-induced increase in serum corticosterone was significantly attenuated compared to non-stressed control rats, indicating that the pituitary–adrenocortical response to vasopressin is affected after exposure to crowding stress. Interestingly, administration of YKS-containing water rescued attenuation of vasopressin-induced increase in serum corticosterone. LTP at Schaffer collateral-CA1 pyramidal cells synapses was attenuated in the hippocampal slices from crowding-stressed rats, while administration of YKS-containing water rescued the attenuation. The present study demonstrates that intake of YKS rescues crowding stress-induced impairments of glucocorticoid secretion response to vasopressin and hippocampal LTP. The intake of YKS may be benefit to buffering chronic stress.