Evidence of an antidepressant-like effect of xylopic acid mediated by serotonergic mechanisms

Synergistic antidepressant-like effect of xylopic acid co-administered with selected antidepressants

“…Together with the antidepressant-like activity, the above pharmacological properties have been attributed to the kaurene diterpene, xylopic acid (XA). Recent investigations have corroborated this assertion ( Woode et al, 2016 , Osafo et al, 2018 , Ekuadzi et al, 2018 , Biney et al, 2015 , Biney et al, 2021 ). This current study builds on the antidepressant-like effect of xylopic acid in mice and further demonstrates the synergistic interaction when co-administered with fluoxetine, sertraline and imipramine.…”

“…The ethanolic extract of Xylopia aethiopica fruits has been primarily investigated for a number of pharmacodynamic effects, including analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and antidepressant-like effects ( Woode et al, 2016 , Osafo et al, 2016 , Biney et al, 2016 , Ameyaw et al, 2014 , Biney et al, 2021 ). Together with the antidepressant-like activity, the above pharmacological properties have been attributed to the kaurene diterpene, xylopic acid (XA).…”

“…The dosed mice were gently introduced into transparent cylindrical tanks (height 25 cm, diameter = 10 cm) containing water (26 ± 1 °C) up to 20 cm, 60 min after administration of fluoxetine, sertraline, imipramine or ketamine, and 90 min after XA administration. The variation in testing times after single-dose administration of XA and the selected antidepressant is based on earlier studies by Biney et al (2021) and Benneh et al (2018) .…”

“…Xylopic acid, a kaurene diterpene extracted from the fruits of Xylopia aethiopica, has been identified in early discovery as one of the promising compounds with antidepressant-like activity ( Biney et al, 2021 ). This follows earlier works on the ethanolic fraction of the dried fruit extract of Xylopia aethiopica, the antidepressant-like effects of xylopic acid have been demonstrated in the tail suspension test, forced swim test, lipopolysaccharide-induced depression-like behaviour test, repeated open space swimming test and chronic unpredictable stress protocol in zebrafish ( Biney et al, 2015 , Biney et al, 2021 , Biney et al, 2016 ).…”

“…Previous studies have shown that XA is more potent at reducing immobility time in the forced swim test (FST) compared to the tail suspension test (TST), which influenced our choice of test for this study ( Biney et al, 2021 ).…”