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Possible involvement of nitric oxide in antidepressant-like effect of silymarin in male mice
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Nahid Fakhraei   , Mina Khoshnoodi , Ahmad Reza Dehpour |
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Abstract: (232 Views) |
Introduction: Silymarin (SM) is extracted from milk thistle Silybum marianum L. [Asteraceae (Compositae)] known for its anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory properties. In the current study, the potential antidepressant-like effect of acute SM administration and the possible involvement of nitric oxide (NO) were determined in male mice.
Methods and Materials: SM was administered orally (5, 10, 20, 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg; p.o.) 60 min before the tests. After the assessment of locomotor activity, the immobility time was measured in the forced swimming (FST) and tail suspension (TST) tests. To assess the possible involvement of NO, a non-specific NO synthase inhibitor, L-NAME (10 mg/kg, i.p.), and a specific iNOS inhibitor, aminoguanidine (AG) (50 mg/kg, i.p.), were administered separately 30 min before SM (20 and 100 mg/kg).
Results: SM at its effective dosages of 10, 20, 50, and 100 mg/kg decreased the immobility time in a dose-dependent manner (p<0.01, p<0.05, p<0.05, and p<0.001, respectively) in the FST. SM (10, 20, 50, and 100 mg/kg) also lowered the immobility measure dose-dependently in the TST (p<0.01, p<0.05, p<0.01, and p<0.001, respectively). In addition, 50% of the maximum response (ED50) of SM was around 10 mg/kg. The dosage of 100 mg/kg proved the most effective in both tests. Further, this effect was not related to changes in locomotor activity. Moreover, L-NAME reversed the impact of SM (20 and 100 mg/kg) in the FST and SM (100 mg/kg) in the TST. However, AG did not influence this response.
Conclusions: The antidepressant-like effect of SM is mediated at least in part through NO and it may up-regulate the NO tune.
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| Keywords: Silymarin, depression, Forced Swimming Test, Open Field Test, Tail Suspension Test |
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Full-Text [PDF 250 kb]
(33 Downloads)
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Type of Study: Research |
Subject:
General
Received: 2024/02/11 | Accepted: 2023/08/23 | Published: 2023/08/23
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