Puerarin’s multidimensional antidepressant action: decoding the gut-liver-brain axis through gut microbiota, hepatic homeostasis, and neuroimmune regulation

Puerarin can improve CRS-induced depression in mice by regulating the gut-liver-brain axis and its related molecules. For example, it can regulate CRS-induced intestinal flora disorders and intestinal permeability, thereby reducing systemic LPS levels and the relative levels of AST and ALP, inhibiting the activation of the TLR4/MYD88/NF-κB signaling pathway by LPS, thereby reducing neuroinflammatory damage, and ultimately improving the depressive symptoms of CRS mice.