Dhingra, Mamta Sachdeva, Dhingra, Sameer, Kumria, Rachna et al. · Pharmacological reports : PR · 2014 · DOI
This study tested whether a new compound derived from gallic acid (a plant antioxidant) could help reverse the harmful effects of chronic stress in mice. Researchers stressed mice by making them swim daily for 15 days, then treated them with the compound and measured changes in anxiety, memory, and harmful molecules in the brain. The treated mice showed improvements in movement, reduced anxiety, better memory, and lower levels of inflammation compared to untreated stressed mice.
ME/CFS patients show elevated oxidative stress and inflammatory markers similar to those measured in this study, making antioxidant and anti-inflammatory approaches theoretically relevant. Identifying compounds that reverse stress-induced behavioral and biochemical changes could inform development of new therapeutic strategies targeting the oxidative stress-inflammation cycle implicated in ME/CFS pathology.
This study does not demonstrate that trimethylgallic acid esters would be effective in humans with ME/CFS; findings from mouse stress models do not automatically translate to clinical efficacy. The study does not establish whether the compound addresses the root causes of ME/CFS or whether similar doses and routes of administration would be safe and effective in patients. Correlation between stress-induced markers and disease improvement does not prove causation in the context of complex, multifactorial conditions like ME/CFS.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Dhingra, Mamta Sachdeva, Dhingra, Sameer, Kumria, Rachna, Chadha, Renu, Singh, Tejvir, Kumar, Anil, et al. (2014). Effect of trimethylgallic acid esters against chronic stress-induced anxiety-like behavior and oxidative stress in mice.. Pharmacological reports : PR. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pharep.2014.01.004
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-dhingra-2014-effect-trimethylgallic,
author = {Dhingra, Mamta Sachdeva and Dhingra, Sameer and Kumria, Rachna and Chadha, Renu and Singh, Tejvir and Kumar, Anil and Karan, Maninder},
title = {Effect of trimethylgallic acid esters against chronic stress-induced anxiety-like behavior and oxidative stress in mice.},
journal = {Pharmacological reports : PR},
year = {2014},
doi = {10.1016/j.pharep.2014.01.004},
note = {PubMed: 24948061},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/dhingra-2014-effect-trimethylgallic},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-29. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/dhingra-2014-effect-trimethylgallic
Contribute
Private, reviewed by a human. Not a public comment thread.