title: Mechanistic study on the antidepressant-like effect of danggui-shaoyao-san, a chinese herbal formula.
abstract: Danggui-Shaoyao-San (DSS), a famous Chinese herbal formula, has been widely used in the treatment of various diseases. Previous studies have shown that DSS produces antidepressant-like effect in rodents. This study aims to investigate the mechanism(s) underlying the antidepressant-like action of DDS. The results showed that DSS treatment significantly antagonized reserpine-induced ptosis in mice. In addition, DSS treatment significantly increased sucrose consumption in chronic unpredictable stress- (CUS-) treated mice. DSS treatment also markedly attenuated CUS-induced decreases in noradrenaline and dopamine concentrations in mouse brain. Furthermore, DSS treatment significantly reversed CUS-induced increase in serum malondialdehyde (MDA) content and decrease in serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in mice. The results suggest that the antidepressant-like activity of DSS is probably mediated by the modulation of central monoamine neurotransmitter systems and the reduction of oxidative stress.
authors.affiliation: College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang Chinese Medicine University, Hangzhou 310053, China.
authors.forename: Zhen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Qing-Qiu
authors.initials: QQ
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.forename: Xiao-Ming
authors.initials: XM
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.forename: Zhao-Yi
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Feng-Mei
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.forename: Siu-Po
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Ip