The modified Suanzaoren decoction alleviates gastrointestinal disorder-related insomnia indicators and improves body well-being in lab animals, potentially due to adjusting gastric acid pH, and altering hormone and neurotransmitter levels.
The methodology of this study involved using a modified version of the traditional Chinese remedy, Suanzaoren decoction or MSZRD, and testing its impact on male lab animals suffering from insomnia related to gastrointestinal discomfort. There were two primary groups: male Sprague-Dawley rats and male Institute of Cancer Research mice. Animals were treated with either MSZRD or a placebo, then subjected to an induced insomnia model; in the case of the rats, this was further extended by a forced period of sleep deprivation.
The induced insomnia model involved administering pentobarbital to the animals. The mice were treated for 7 days while the rats were given daily treatment over 11 days, in the last 4 of which sleep was deliberately deprived. Body weight, organ indices, and fecal moisture were compared against control groups while gauging sleep latency and sleep durations in the MSZRD-treated subjects.
In the discussion of results, the research corroborated that MSZRD notably reduced sleep latency while extending sleep duration for animals under examination. It significantly improved body weight, organ indices, and fecal moisture, suggesting potential gastroprotective properties. Measures of exploratory behavior in sleep-deprived rats were reduced, indicating diminished sleep deprivation-induced anxiety.
Crucially, MSZRD was observed to lower gastric acid pH and restraint the production of certain regulatory chemicals while enhancing the presence of others, such as the inhibitory neurotransmitter, GABA. This was witnessed through an increase in serum GABA levels which resulted in a reduced ratio of Glu (an excitatory neurotransmitter) to GABA—indicative of a potential calming effect. Lastly, the treated animals displayed increased expression of GAD1, GABARA1, and CCKBR neurotransmitters, with decreased expression of Orexin R1.
