Echinacea and DHEA counteract ovariectomy- induced depression in female rats
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1
Ain Shams University, Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Egypt
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2
Ain Shams University, Zoology Department, Women's University College, for Arts, Science and Education, Egypt
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3
National Organization for Drug Control and Research (NODCAR), Physiology Department, Egypt
Depression is one of the most widespread diseases that affects all ages where women are more vulnerable than men. Most antidepressant medications work by increasing the levels of one or more of the monoamine neurotransmitters serotonin (5-HT), norepinephrine (NE) and dopamine (DA) in the synaptic cleft between neurons in the brain. This study was planned to evaluate the ameliorative potentials of the natural herb Echinacea (Ech), the adrenocortical hormone dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) with proposed neuromodulating functions, and the specific serotonin re-uptake inhibitor anti-depressant drug sertraline on ovariectomy- induced depression in female rats. Adult female rats were divided into 2 groups, one group was sham operated and the other was ovariectomized. The forced swimming test (FST) was then applied to the rats of the second group separate rats which exhibit depressed behavior from those that did not. The rats that tested positive in the FST were classified as depressed and further divided into four groups; the first served as the depressed control, the second was treated orally with Ech (60 mg/kg/day), the third with DHEA (25 mg / kg / day) and the fourth with sertraline (50 mg/kg/day). After 3 weeks, half of the rats in each group were removed for autopsy and the rest were treated for further 3 weeks before performing autopsy. After decapitation, the brain was immediately excised and dissected into the frontal cortex, mid brain, cerebellum, pons and hypothalamus. The monoamine neurotransmitters (NE, DA, and 5-HT) in addition to the peptide neurotransmitters γ-aminobyturic acid (GABA), β-endorphin (β-EP) and methionine-enkephalin (M-Enk) were determined in these brain areas. Ovariectomy caused a general decrease in the studied neurotransmitters in comparison with the sham control. Treatment with Ech, DHEA and sertraline induced a significant increase in NE, DA, 5-HT, GABA, and β-EP in all investigated brain areas in comparison with those of the ovariectomized depressed rats and restored the levels of these neurotransmitters to value close to the range of the sham operated after 6 weeks. Treatment with Ech or DHEA caused a significant increase in frontal cortex M-Enk content as compared to ovariectomized depressed rats. Pons M-Enk content was significantly elevated by Ech, DHEA or sertraline at 6 weeks of treatment. The three treatments caused a significant improvement in the FST in comparison with the depressed rats after 6 weeks. It is concluded that Ech or DHEA might represent a new approach of depression treatment with promising results through modulation of the monoamines, GABA, and opioid systems.
Keywords:
Depression,
DHEA,
Echinacea herb,
GABA,
methionine-enkephalin,
monoamine neurotransmitters,
Ovariectomy,
Sertraline,
β-endorphin
Conference:
3rd Mediterranean Conference of Neuroscience , Alexandria, Egypt, 13 Dec - 16 Dec, 2009.
Presentation Type:
Poster Presentation
Topic:
Stress
Citation:
Ezzat
AR,
Abou Nour
AA,
Arafa
NM,
Ali
EH and
Sabry
HA
(2009). Echinacea and DHEA counteract ovariectomy- induced depression in female rats.
Front. Neurosci.
Conference Abstract:
3rd Mediterranean Conference of Neuroscience .
doi: 10.3389/conf.neuro.01.2009.16.134
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Received:
24 Nov 2009;
Published Online:
24 Nov 2009.
*
Correspondence:
Elham H Ali, Ain Shams University, Zoology Department, Women's University College, for Arts, Science and Education, Cairo, Egypt, elhamhassan2006@yahoo.com