Abstract:To evaluate the effect of coix seed extract in improving sleep in mice and discuss the possible mechanism of action，fifty 6-week-old male C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into five groups，including a blank group（distilled water），melatonin group[melatonin of 0.5 mg/（kg·d）]，and three coix seed intervention groups at doses of 83.3，166.7 mg/（kg·d），and 333.3 mg/（kg·d）.The experiments of prolonged pentobarbital sodium sleep duration，pentobarbital sodium subthreshold dose hypnosis，and pentobarbital sodium sleep latency were performed every 10 days by continuous intragastric administration for 30 days. After the intervention，the sleep behavior of mice was monitored by the home cage in real time. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay（ELISA）detected serum levels of 5-hydroxytryptamine（5-HT），γ-aminobutyric acid（GABA），interleukin-1β（IL-1β），and tumor necrosis factor-α（TNF-α）.The results showed that coix seed extract had no direct effect on sleep in mice. After 30 days of intervention，mice in the medium and high dose groups of coix seed slept longer（P＜0.01）. On the 30th day，the proportion of sleeping mice in the intervention group increased significantly（P＜0.05）. Sleep latency showed a trend of shortening in each intervention group. Home cage monitoring revealed a significant increase in sleep time of mice in the intervention group，exhibiting a dose-response relationship.The serum levels of IL-1β，5-HT，GABA，and TNF-α were higher in the intervention group. IL-1β was positively correlated with 5-HT and TNF-α. TNF-α was positively correlated with GABA.5-HT was positively correlated with GABA.Coix seed extract could prolong the sleep time of mice and increase the number of sleeping mice.The improvement effect was independent and sustainable.The study suggested that coix seed may enhance sleep quality by elevating IL-1β，5-HT，and GABA in the serum.