Plants high in antioxidants tend to be effective at treating mood disorders. One reason for this is that plants with high levels of antioxidants tend to contain flavonoids, and flavonoids have been shown to favourably alter brain chemistry. The beneficial effects of flavonoids may derive from their ability to interact with the GABA receptor and a general antioxidant effect that reduces neuronal inflammation. Onion is a vegetable that is consumed worldwide and which is a staple food in many countries. Onion contains an interesting phytochemical profile that includes a range of sulphurous compounds and very high concentrations of the flavonoid quercetin. Quercetin has been shown to interact with the GABAA receptor, and may have mood elevating effects. This has lead to suggestion that onion may be a useful food in the treatment of mood disorders. In this regard, researchers have investigated the effects of onion extracts on the mood of animals in animal models of depression.
Onions are high in antioxidants, particularly the flavonoid quercetin. Quercetin has been shown to confer mood elevating effects perhaps because it interacts with the GABA receptor, and perhaps due to a general antioxidant effect that modulates detrimental neurochemical changes.
For example, in one study, researchers investigated the antidepressant effects of onion extracts on rats exposed to experimental stress. The rats were administered powdered onion extracts for 2 weeks and then subject to a forced swimming test. The powdered onion extracts cause significant reduction in the depressive symptoms experienced by the rats as measured by a reduction in the time spent immobile. The exposure to stress increased dopamine turnover in the brain of the rats, but administration of onion significantly reduced this turnover of dopamine. Onion may therefore have antidepressant effects on animals. Onion extracts have also been shown to protect neuronal cells from oxidative stress through changes to cellular signalling system. This suggests that onion extracts may possess general protective effects against neuronal damage through the support of endogenous antioxidant systems. Taken as a whole these results show that onion extract may have mood elevating effects and could be effective in the treatment of depression.
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