Icariin from Epimedium brevicornum attenuates chronic mild stress-induced behavioral and neuroendocrinological alterations in male Wistar rats.
Chronic mild stress (CMS) is suggested to produce abnormalities in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and hypothalamus-pituitary-thyroid (HPT) axis. Therefore, compound that attenuates the neuroendocrinological alterations may have potential as antidepressant. The behavioral and neuroendocrinological effects of icariin, a major constituent of flavonoids isolated from Epimedium brevicornum, were investigated in the CMS model of depression in male Wistar rats. CMS procedure caused an anhedonic state in rats resulted in increased corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) concentrations in dissected brain regions and serum, decreased total triiodothyronine (tT3) in serum with no significant changes in serum adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) and thyroxine (tT4). Administration of icariin reversed CMS-induced sucrose intake reduction and CRF elevation. These results suggested that icariin possessed potent antidepressant-like activities which were at least in part mediated by improving the abnormalities in the HPA axis functions. However, we did not find a clear correlation between the HPT axis and icariin treatment in the CMS-treated rats.
Pan
Ying
Y
State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Institute of Functional Biomolecules, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, People's Republic of China.
Kong
Ling-Dong
LD
Li
Yu-Cheng
YC
Xia
Xing
X
Kung
Hsiang-Fu
HF
Jiang
Fu-Xing
FX
D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone / Q000097:blood; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology*; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D001923:Brain Chemistry / Q000187:drug effects*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003346:Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone / Q000097:blood; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology; D034181:Epimedium / Q000737:chemistry*; D005419:Flavonoids / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005473:Fluoxetine / Q000494:pharmacology; D005518:Food Preferences / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology*; D013395:Sucrose; D013974:Thyroxine / Q000097:blood; D014284:Triiodothyronine / Q000097:blood
D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone; D003346:Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone; D005419:Flavonoids; D005473:Fluoxetine; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors; D013395:Sucrose; D013974:Thyroxine; D014284:Triiodothyronine; C056599:icariin