Antidepressant-Like Effects of Gyejibokryeong-hwan in a Mouse Model of Reserpine-Induced Depression

Abstract

Treatment with the antihypertensive agent reserpine depletes monoamine levels, resulting in depression. In the present study, we evaluated the antidepressant effects of Gyejibokryeong-hwan (GBH), a traditional Korean medicine, in a mouse model of reserpine-induced depression. Mice were treated with reserpine (0.5 mg·kg−1, i.p.) or phosphate-buffered saline (PBS, i.p., normal) once daily for 10 days. GBH (50, 100, 300, and 500 mg·kg−1), PBS (normal, control), fluoxetine (FXT, 20 mg·kg−1), or amitriptyline (AMT, 30 mg·kg−1) was administered orally 1 h prior to reserpine treatment. Mouse behavior was examined in the forced swim test (FST), tail suspension test (TST), and open-field test (OFT) following completion of the treatment protocol. Administration of GBH reduced immobility time in the FST and TST and significantly increased the total distance traveled in the OFT. Plasma serotonin levels were significantly lower in control mice than in normal mice, although these decreases were significantly attenuated to a similar extent by treatment with GBH, FXT, or AMT. Reserpine-induced increases in plasma corticosterone were also attenuated by GBH treatment. Moreover, GBH attenuated reserpine-induced increases in interleukin- (IL-) 1β, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor- (TNF-) α mRNA expression in the hippocampus. In addition, GBH mice exhibited increased levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and a higher ratio of phosphorylated cAMP response element-binding protein (p-CREB) to CREB (p-CREB/CREB) in the hippocampus. Our results indicated that GBH can ameliorate depressive-like behaviors, affect the concentration of mood-related hormones, and help to regulate immune/endocrine dysfunction in mice with reserpine-induced depression, likely via activation of the BDNF-CREB pathway. Taken together, these findings indicate that GBH may be effective in treating patients with depression.

Si-Ni-San Prevents Reserpine-Induced Depression by Inhibiting Inflammation and Regulating CYP450 Enzymatic Activity

“…Animals treated with reserpine showed sagging, decreased body temperature, and tonic symptoms (Antkiewicz-Michaluk et al, 2014), which were treated with tricyclic antidepressants and monoamine oxidase inhibitors and can antagonize the symptoms of upper eye sagging and body temperature decrease. Studies have found that reserpine is widely used in the modeling of depression, Parkinson's disease and schizophrenia (Fernandes et al, 2012;Park et al, 2018). The reserpine-induced depression rat model can be divided into two types, one for a low dose (i.p., 0.1-0.5 mg/kg) and one for a single high dose (i.p., 1-5 mg/kg) (Fernandes et al, 2012;Ozerov et al, 2016).…”

Antineuroinflammatory and Neuroprotective Effects of Gyejibokryeong-Hwan in Lipopolysaccharide-Stimulated BV2 Microglia

“…In a previous study conducted by our group, GBH was shown to exhibit antineuroinflammation effects in the hippocampus of a mouse model of reserpine-induced depression [19]. Several studies have reported that microglia regulate hippocampal neurogenesis in neurodegeneration [20, 21].…”

Present and Future Potential of Antiparasitic Activity of Opuntia ficus-indica

“…73 This is a result of its role in inhibiting membrane enzymatic activities such as glucosyltransferase and on the other hand by activating autolytic enzymes in the pathogen cell wall and this leads to a disorganization of the membrane phospholipids bilayer, which may result in a notable decrease in nutrient uptake, the inhibition of bacterial cell growth, and an increase in membrane permeability and cell lysis. 74 The fatty acids found in Opuntia ficus indica seed oil are linoleic acid as the major fatty acid (61.01%), followed by oleic (25.52%) and palmitic (12.23%) acids. Both myristic, stearic and arachidonic acids were detected in low amounts.…”