Effect of the volatile oil of Myristica fragrans Houtt on behaviors in despaire depressed mice / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To observe the antidepressant effect of the volatile oil of Myristica in mice and investigate its mechanism.Methods Healthy male Kunming mice were divided into control group,fluoxetine hydrochloride group,high,medium and low dose group,and all of the mice were gavaged for 7 days.The role of antidepressant on the mice were observed with tail suspension tests and forced swimming tests.Then serotonin(5-HT),dopamine(DA) and norepinephrine (NE) in the brain of the mice were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.Results Compared with the control group((82.60 ± 24.70)s),the medium dose group could shorten the immobility time of the tail suspension tests ((54.40± 15.87) s),and showed statistical significance (P＜ 0.05).The content of 5-HT,DA,NE in the brain of the medium group were (19.35±2.79) ng/ml,(12.16±0.71)pg/ml,(0.27±0.12) ng/ml,and control group were (14.95±4.83) ng/ml,(11.32±0.95) pg/ml,(0.20±0.11) ng/ml.Compared with the control group,the content of 5-HT of the medium dose group was increased and showed statistical significance(P＜0.05).Conclusion The volatile oil of Myristica fragrans Houtt has antidepressant effect,and may be related to raising the content of 5-HT,DA,NE in the brain of the mice,especially 5-HT.