Depression is an affective disorder mental disease characterized by continuous depression. With the aggravation of various stress factors, its incidence is rising rapidly, high and difficult to cure. Depression is also closely related to various serious diseases such as cancer, stroke and cardiovascular disease. Its pathogenesis is very complex. From the earliest monoamine hypothesis, to the negative feedback disorder of hypothalamus pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis, to neural apoptosis, necrosis and other mechanisms may be related to the pathogenesis of depression. With the in-depth study of the pathogenesis, it also points out the direction for the development of safe and effective new drugs. In recent years, the research of natural antidepressants has made some progress, which provides a broad prospect for the clinical use of drugs with high efficacy and low side effects.

    Pepper is known as "the king of spices". It is an ancient and famous spice in the world and is widely used as a cooking seasoning in the kitchen. In addition, in the food processing industry, pepper can be used as a preservative to extend the shelf life of food; In medicine, pepper can be used as a wind repellent and antipyretic to treat indigestion and the common cold. Piperine is the main active chemical in pepper. Piperine belongs to cinnamic phthalein amine alkaloids. It exists widely in nature, especially in pepper plants. Piperine has a wide range of pharmacological effects. At present, it has been found to have antioxidant, immune regulation, anti-tumor, promoting drug metabolism and so on. How does piperine exert its antidepressant effect?

    Hippocampal neurogenesis plays an important role in maintaining normal learning and memory and emotion control. Preliminary studies have shown that antidepressant drugs such as tricyclic, monoamine oxidase inhibitors and selective 5HT reuptake inhibitors can promote hippocampal neurogenesis. In this study, piperine at the concentration of 14,7,35umol · L-1 could increase the proliferation of neural precursor cells in the primary culture model of hippocampal neural stem cells, which was significantly different from the control group. It is suggested that another way of piperine's antidepressant effect may be to resist or overcome the neuronal atrophy and loss caused by depression by neuroprotection and promoting the proliferation of hippocampal stem cells.

    In a word, the protection of nerve cells and the regeneration and creation of neurons undoubtedly provide a new perspective for the selection of therapeutic targets for depression.PiperineAs a natural active compound with a wide range of pharmacological effects, its antidepressant mechanism needs to be further studied.