The anti-depressant effect of Nelumbinis semen on rats under chronic mild stress induced depression-like symptoms.
Nelumbinis Semen is a well-known traditional herbal medicine frequently used in treatment of depression in many Asian countries. In this study, its anti-depression effects in rats were investigated by comparing the test results of those treated with Nelumbinis Semen to those treated with other herbal anti-depressants, including Rehmanniae Radix Preparat, Corni Fructus, Lycii Fructus, Pinelliae Rhizoma and Hypericum Perforatum. In order to induce depression-like symptoms, the animals were placed under chronic mild stress in the form of overnight illumination for 2 consecutive days. They were treated with the respective herbal extract and forced swimming tests were conducted afterwards. The anti-depression effects of each extract were then evaluated based on a measured index, which consisted of struggling time, first latency and first rest duration. These test results show that Nelumbinis Semen provides greater anti-depression effects than the other herbal extracts. Specifically, only the rats treated with Nelumbinis Semen showed significant increases in struggling time (43.9%, p < 0.005, p = 0.0037) and in first latency time (90.2%, p < 0.05, p = 0.0116). However, the first rest duration for Nelumbinis Semen treated rats was not significantly different from the other rats. It appears that Nelumbinis Semen provides even greater anti-depression effects than Hypericum Perforatum (commonly referred to as St. John's Wort, perhaps the most widely used natural antidepressant today). The anti-depression effects of Nelumbinis Semen might be due to the modulation of the amount of neurotransmitters involved in depression.
Kang
Moonkyu
M
Purimed R&D Institute, Kyung-Hee University, Seoul, Korea.
Shin
Dongwon
D
Oh
Jung-Wan
JW
Cho
Chongwoon
C
Lee
Hwa-Jin
HJ
Yoon
Dong-Won
DW
Lee
Sang-Moon
SM
Yun
Jung-Hwan
JH
Choi
Hyun
H
Park
Seongkyu
S
Shin
Minkyu
M
Hong
Moochang
M
Bae
Hyunsu
H
D000818:Animals; D003863:Depression / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008027:Light; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013315:Stress, Psychological
D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; C501480:Nelumbinis Semen