Study on the neuroprotective and sedative effects of the combination of jujuboside B and spinosin from Ziziphi Spinosae Semen

The seeds of Ziziphus jujuba contains more than 150 compounds, such as jujuboside B and spinosin as the major components, showing bioactivities. In this study, jujuboside B and spinosin were tested for their neuroprotective and sedative effect via cell experiments and their best synergistic effect was found at a ratio of 5:1 (jujuboside B: spinosin). Molecular docking results showed that jujuboside B and spinosin had good binding ability with receptor proteins, namely GABAAR-α1, GABABR-1, GAD-67, and GAT-1. In the follow-up animal experiments, the optimum combination of jujuboside B and spinosin (5:1) was able to improve the sleep by up-regulating the expression of GABAAR-α1, GABABR-1, and GAD-67, while down-regulating the expression of GAT-1. This study confirmed the combined neuroprotective and sedative effects of jujuboside B and spinosin.