title: Sub-chronic treatment effects of an extract of Hypericum perforatum (St. John's Wort, Li 160) on neuroendocrine responses to the 5-T2A agonist, DOI in the rat.
abstract: Clinical studies have demonstrated the antidepressant efficacy of LI 160 extracts, which is comparable to antidepressants such as imipramine. The study was undertaken to assess the sub-chronic effects of LI 160 extract on plasma corticosterone and prolactin (PRL) responses to the post-synaptic 5-HT 2A receptor agonist, 2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodophenyl-2-aminopropane (DOI), in the male rat. Results show that sub-chronic treatment with the LI 160 extract reduced corticosterone and PRL responses to DOI. LI 160 may modify brain 5-HT function in the rat, possibly by reducing the sensitivity of central 5-HT 2A receptors. This may be a result of decreased receptor expression, signal transduction or intracellular messengers. These findings could be relevant to the therapeutic efficacy of St. John's Wort.
authors.affiliation: University of Oxford Department of Psychiatry, Warneford Hospital Oxford, UK. michael.franklin@psychiatry.ox.ac.uk
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Franklin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003345:Corticosterone / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000097:blood; D020902:Hypericum; D007215:Indophenol / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011388:Prolactin / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000097:blood; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D044402:Receptor, Serotonin, 5-HT2A / Q000502:physiology; D058826:Serotonin 5-HT2 Receptor Agonists
chemical_list: C422326:Hypericum extract LI 160; D010936:Plant Extracts; D044402:Receptor, Serotonin, 5-HT2A; D058826:Serotonin 5-HT2 Receptor Agonists; C113896:dimethoxy-4-indophenyl-2-aminopropane; D007215:Indophenol; D011388:Prolactin; D003345:Corticosterone