ABSTRACT
AIM To aim at investigating the function of Kaixin Jieyu Pills (Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma,Bupleuri Radix,Morindae officinalis Radix,etc.) to vascular depression and their mechanism of action.METHODS A vascular depression model of rat was established by chronic unpredictable mild stress and separation after ligation of the bilateral common carotid arteries.The rats were treated with Kaixin Jieyu Pills and fluoxetine hydrochloride (FLU) for 28 days,respectively.The sucrose preference test and open-field test were performed.Cerebral perfusion was investigated with a Perfusion Speckle Imager.The monoamines including serotonin,dopamine and noradrenaline,and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) were determined with ELISA and Western bolt,respectively.RESULTS Kaixin Jieyu Pills significantly increased sucrose preference,moving distance and cortical blood flow.Kaixin Jieyu Pills could upregulate,to different extents,the expressions of monoamines,including serotonin,noradrenaline and dopamine,and BDNF.Kaixin Jieyu Pills had a function similar to FLU in behavior,upregulating monoamines and BDNF,but it is superior to FLU in cortical blood flow.CONCLUSION Kaixin Jieyu Pills has the advantage of reducing the depression-like behavior and improving cerebral hypoperfusion,which might be mediated by the upregulation of the serotonin,noradrenaline and BDNF.