Effects of Jiaotai Pill on behavior and monoamine neurotransmitters of depression rat model / 中草药

ABSTRACT

Objective: To study the effects of Jiaotai Pill on the behavior and monoamine neurotransmitters of chronic mild unpredictable stress (CUMS) depression rat model and to investigate the anti-depression effect and mechanism of Jiaotai Pill. Methods: A total of 72 SD rats were divided into six groups randomly, namely control, model, positive drug (fluoxetine hydrochloride, 7.5 mg/kg), low-, mid-, and high-doses of Jiaotai Pill (crude drug 0.75, 1.5, and 3 g/kg) groups (n = 12), which were reared in cage and execpt the control group, the other five groups of rats were given CUMS to stimulate the production of CUMS depression model, then ig given Jiaotai Pill for 14 d. Rats in each group were measured the body weight and the rate of sucrose preference once a week to observe the open-field activity behavior (through the horizontal grid and the number of vertical changes) at the 5th week. All the animals were killed to get the blood and brain cortex to test the levels of NE, 5-HT, and 5-HIAA in hippocampus, cortex, and hypothalamus by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Results: Compared with the model group, the test indexes of rat body weight, sucrose water consumption, and the open-field activity behavior were significantly increased in the low-, mid-, and high-dose of Jiaotai Pill groups. And the contents of NE and 5-HT increased, while the content of 5-HIAA decreased obviously in the hippocampus, cortex, and hypothalamus in all Jiaotai Pill groups (P < 0.05 or 0.01). Conclusion: Jiaotai Pill has a better antidepressant effect whose mechanism is related to increasing the level of monoamine neurotransmitters in the cerebral cortex.