The Antidepressant Effect of Gastrodia elata Bl. on the Forced-Swimming Test in Rats

2008 ◽  
Vol 36 (01) ◽  
pp. 95-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pei-Ju Chen ◽  
Ching-Liang Hsieh ◽  
Kuan-Pin Su ◽  
Yu-Chi Hou ◽  
Hsiu-Mei Chiang ◽  
...  

Depression is a common psychiatric disorder with a high morbidity and mortality rate. The pharmacotherapy used in clinic today is not suitable for all patients and causes certain side-effects. Thus, looking for alternative treatments with antidepressant effect and minimal side-effect is important. Gastrodia elata Bl. is a famous Chinese traditional medicine used for centuries. The aim of this study is to test the antidepressant effect of Gastrodia elata Bl. extract (GE) using forced-swimming test (FST). Sprague-Dawley rats were assigned to control, GE, and fluoxetine groups, treated with 10 ml/kg bw (body weight) water, 1 g/kg bw of GE, and 15 mg/kg bw of fluoxetine, respectively. Those samples were administered by gavage to rats 23.5, 4.5 and 1 hour prior to the test session of FST. After FST, the animals were sacrificed and their brains were collected for monoamines analysis. The results indicated that the duration of immobility was significantly decreased in GE group compared to the control (p < 0.05). The concentration of serotonin (5-HT), 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), and the ratio of 5-HIAA/5-HT in frontal cortex, amygdala, and hippocampus were not significantly different between GE and the control groups. However, administration of GE significantly increased the dopamine (DA) concentration (p < 0.05) and decreased the concentration of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) (p < 0.01) and DA turnover (p < 0.05) in striatum compared to the control. The results of this study show that Gastrodia elata Bl. extract modulates the turnover of DA in rats, and thus probably possesses antidepressant effect in rats.

1996 ◽  
Vol 79 (3) ◽  
pp. 1007-1018
Author(s):  
Toshiaki Tachibana ◽  
Akie Yoko ◽  
Hiroshi Yoshino

The fact found by Abel and his group that rats produce an ‘alarm substance’ while swimming was examined by employing a single-subject approach. Sprague-Dawley rats were tested in the forced swimming test situation in fresh water and in water soiled by another rat. In Exp. 1, Sprague-Dawley rats from Japan SLC, Inc. were used. No evidence of responding to the ‘alarm substance’ was found. Then, further experiments were conducted employing methods similar to those of Abel and his group. In Exp. 2, Sprague-Dawley rats from Charles River, Japan, were used. In Exp. 3, the water depth and inner diameter in a cylinder used were the same as those used by Abel and his group, and the water was soiled more thoroughly. In Exp. 4, the level of water contamination was raised to four times that employed in Exps. 1 and 2. However, the series of experiments yielded no evidence of the ‘alarm substance.’ Breeder differences among subjects might explain the discrepancy in results.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Dao-zhou Mu ◽  
Mei Xue ◽  
Jian-jun Xu ◽  
Ying Hu ◽  
Yi Chen ◽  
...  

Paeoniflorin, an organic compound extracted from the roots of the white peony (Paeonia lactiflora) plant, has previously been shown to exert antidepression and prokinetic effects. The traditional Chinese prescription Si-Ni-San, of which paeoniflorin is a constituent, is often used in treating depression and functional gastrointestinal disorders. The effectiveness of Si-Ni-San has been shown to be less effective in a paeoniflorin-deleted form. The present study further investigates whether paeoniflorin alone is as effective as herbal prescriptions in which the compound is a constituent, specifically any antidepressive and prokinetic effect on rats subjected to a forced swimming test (FST). The FST was used to establish the depression model. Sprague-Dawley rats were administrated with 10 mg/kg paeoniflorin by gastrogavage three times before the behavioral test and gastrointestinal motility tests, respectively. In antidepression studies, fluoxetine was used as the positive control. In order to determine the effect of paeoniflorin on the gastrointestinal movement, mosapride was used as the positive control. Plasma and hippocampus monoamine, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, plasma brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), superoxide dismutase (SOD), methane dicarboxylic aldehyde (MDA), ghrelin, motilin, and hippocampus nitric oxide (NO) were assessed using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Gastrointestinal (GI) motility was measured in vivo and in vitro. Rats subjected to FST showed decreased gastric emptying and intestinal transit in vivo, decreased plasma and hippocampus 5-hydroxytryptamine, norepinephrine, dopamine, ghrelin, motilin, and reduced plasma BDNF and SOD as well as increased plasma and hippocampus corticotropin-releasing hormone, adrenocorticotropic hormone, corticosterone, plasma MDA, and hippocampus NO. Paeoniflorin reversed these symptoms in a similar manner to fluoxetine and mosapride, respectively. In vitro, paeoniflorin can stimulate the jejunal contract of healthy rats dose-dependently. The results suggest that paeoniflorin can simultaneously exert antidepression and prokinetic effects via polypharmacology.


Author(s):  
Ajoy Borah ◽  
Binita Singha ◽  
Swopna Phukan

Objective: Depression is a major psychiatric disorder affecting nearly 350 million people worldwide and imposes a substantial health burden on the society. Ceftriaxone has demonstrated neuroprotective effects in animals. It has also undergone trials as a treatment option for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. This study was therefore undertaken to evaluate the antidepressant-like effect of ceftriaxone in mice.Methods: Ceftriaxone was administered at three different doses (0.130, 0.195 and 0.260g/kg) to Swiss albino mice of either sex by intra peritoneal (i. p.) route. The period of immobility in control and drug-treated mice were recorded in forced swimming test (FST) and tail suspension test (TST). The antidepressant effect of ceftriaxone indicated by the decrease in duration of immobility was compared to that of fluoxetine (0.020 g/kg, i. p.).Results: Ceftriaxone decreased the duration of immobility in mice. It showed a significant dose-dependent antidepressant effect. The antidepressant effect of 0.260g/kg of ceftriaxone was comparable to that of fluoxetine in the TST but not in the FST.Conclusion: The results of the present study indicate antidepressant activity of Ceftriaxone. The study shows that ceftriaxone has additional action on the central nervous system other than neuroprotection. Ceftriaxone therapy in cases of encephalomeningitis and in various cases of hemorrhages in the brain can, therefore, prevent the development of depression in future


Author(s):  
Afshan Abbas ◽  
Rahila Ikram ◽  
Faiza Hasan ◽  
Abeer Adil ◽  
Uzair Nisar ◽  
...  

Aim: To evaluate the antiamnesic and antidepressant effect of Foeniculum vulgare whole crushed seeds. Study Design: Laboratory based randomized control study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Pharmacology, University of Karachi between January 2018 to August 2018.  Methodology: Thirty swiss albino mice and wistar rats were divided equally in three groups. Control group was fed on standard rodent diet, group 2 was fed on 2% Foeniculum vulgare diet and group 3 was given 4% Foeniculum vulgare diet. Antidepressant activity was assessed using forced swimming test. Memory enhancement effect was evaluated by stationary rod test, passive avoidance test and water maze test. Results: Increased duration of struggling time was noted in both group 2 and group 3 as compared to control in forced swimming test. Decrease in time to reach platform in both water maze and stationary rod test was recorded in both the study group (group 2 & 3). Increase in step through latency was also seen in group 2 and group 3 as compared to control group. Conclusion: The results showed the memory enhancing and antidepressant actions of Foeniculum.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jian Xu ◽  
Yanling She ◽  
Ning Su ◽  
Ruixin Zhang ◽  
Lixing Lao ◽  
...  

We investigate the antidepressant-like effect and mechanism of electroacupuncture (EA) on a chronic unpredictable mild stress rats depression-like behavior. In our study, depression in rats was induced by unpredictable chronic mild stress (UCMS) and isolation for four weeks. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups: Normal, Model, EA, and Sham EA. EA treatment was administered for two weeks, once a day for five days a week. Two acupoints, Yintang (EX-HN3) and Baihui (GV20), were selected. For sham EA, acupuncture needles were inserted shallowly into the acupoints: EX-HN3 and GV20. No electrostimulator was connected. The antidepressant-like effect of the electroacupuncture treatment was measured by sucrose intake test, open field test, and forced swimming test in rats. The protein levels of phosphorylated extracellular regulated protein kinases (p-ERK1/2)/ERK1/2 and p-P38/P38 in the hippocampus (HP) were examined by Western blot analysis. Our data demonstrate that EA treatment decreased the immobility time of forced swimming test and improved the sucrose solution intake in comparison to unpredictable chronic mild stress and placebo sham control. Electroacupuncture may act on depression by enhancing p-ERK1/2 and p-p38 in the hippocampus.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (70) ◽  
pp. 154-161
Author(s):  
Sh Farahbakhsh ◽  
B Hatef ◽  
Z Akhtari ◽  
Z Bourbour ◽  
H Sahraei ◽  
...  

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