Chaihu Shugan San, a traditional Chinese herbal formula, showed superior results to fluoxetine in managing depression and regulating blood rheology in chronically stressed rats.
The study involved inducing chronic restraint stress (CRS) in rats for a period of 4 weeks, thus creating a model of depression. Once the depression was successfully induced, the researchers administered varied doses of Chaihu Shugan San (CHSGS) and fluoxetine to the corresponding groups of rats through gavage for a period of 2 weeks. Any changes from the CRS rats were then assessed through behavioral observations, sucrose preference tests, and evaluations of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis functional status.
Following these treatments, changes in monoamine neurotransmitters and related markers for blood status were detected using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, blood rheometers, and other methods. The study findings suggest that the traditional Chinese herbal formula CHSGS generally outperformed fluoxetine in managing the emotional and physical symptoms of depression. Both CHSGS and fluoxetine improved blood rheology, decreased blood coagulation, and positively affected endothelium-related functions in the depressed rats.
