title: Protective effect of young green barley leaf (Hordeum vulgare L.) on restraint stress-induced decrease in hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor in mice.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Many health experts support the hypothesis that stressful lifestyles are the leading cause of illness, like depression. Therefore, from the standpoint of preventive medicine, it is important to reduce stress. Young green barley leaves are a good natural source of vitamins and minerals, and their juice is widely consumed as a functional food for health reasons in Japan. This study investigated the protective effect of young green barley leaves for stress control.
  
  
  METHODS
  ICR outbred mice were exposed to 3-h sessions of restraint stress. Young green barley leaves (400 and 1,000 mg/kg) were administered orally 1 h before the sessions for 5 days. To analyze voluntary behavior, wheel-running activity was monitored during the dark period. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) messenger RNA (mRNA) expression in the whole hippocampus was measured by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Restraint stress resulted in a significant decrease in voluntary wheel-running behavior, but this decrease was ameliorated by the administration of young green barley leaves. The leaves also enhanced the decreased levels of BDNF mRNA induced by restraint stress; in particular, a significant protective effect was shown in the exon IV variant as compared to vehicle control mice.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings suggest that young green barley leaves have potent anti-stress properties, as evidenced by preventing decreases in the levels of voluntary wheel-running activity and hippocampal BDNF mRNA in response to restraint stress. Our findings support the possibility that supplementation with young green barley leaves might be beneficial for preventing stress-related psychiatric disorders like depression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Geriatric Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Katsunori
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamaura
authors.affiliation: Department of Geriatric Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Riho
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.affiliation: Department of Geriatric Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuanyuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Bi
authors.affiliation: Research and Development Division, JPD Co. Ltd., Hyogo, Japan.
authors.forename: Hideki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fukata
authors.affiliation: Department of Geriatric Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Nobuo
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Oishi
authors.affiliation: Department of Geriatric Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiromi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.affiliation: Department of Geriatric Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan ; Center for Preventive Medical Science, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Chisato
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mori
authors.affiliation: Department of Geriatric Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan ; Center for Preventive Medical Science, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Koichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ueno
keywords: Behavioral study; brain-derived neurotrophic factor; functional food; hippocampus; preventive medicine