Chaihu Shugan Powder (CSP) was found to have antidepressant-like effects, potentially by suppressing CHOP and caspase-12 mediated apoptosis in the rat hippocampus.
The study's methodology involved thirty-two Sprague-Dawley rats, divided randomly into a control group, a chronic unpredictable mild stress group, a fluoxetine group, and a Chaihu Shugan Powder group. Except for the control group, all rats were subjected to three weeks of chronic unpredictable mild stress, effectively establishing a depression model. The antidepressant effects of Chaihu Shugan Powder were tested by performing an open field test, a forced swimming test, and a sucrose preference test on the rats. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase was used to calculate the apoptosis rate in the hippocampal tissues. Real-time PCR and Western blot analysis were utilized to evaluate the mRNA and protein levels of various substances in the rats' hippocampus.
The results indicated that administration of Chaihu Shugan Powder lessened both anxiety and depression-like behavior in the stressed rats as revealed by increased time and distance in the center of the open field test, a preference for sucrose, and longer swimming time and short immobility time during the forced swimming test. Additionally, Chaihu Shugan Powder usage notably diminished the apoptosis rate in rat hippocampal neurons. There were down-regulated mRNA and protein expression levels along with the expression of cleaved caspase-12 proteins, while total and phosphorylated protein levels did not significantly change between control and CSP-treated rats.
