Astragalus Membranaceus And Paroxetine Effect On IL-18 And 5-HT Of The Depression Mice Model

BackgroundDepression is a kind of high incidence of emotional disorder that seriously endangering human physical and mental health[1]. Depression has become the fourth largest disease and would be likely to become the second largest disease after coronary heart disease until 2020 in the world[2]. The exact etiology and pathogenesis of depression, however, is not fully understood so far. A number of research scholars, from domestic and abroad, suggested that a variety of cytokine-mediated immune response dysfunction may play some role in the pathogenesis of depression in recent years[3].Commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine as a tonic, astragalus has the following effects: tonifying qi, consolidating exterior, promoting urination, detoxifying, draining pus, healing wound, engendering flesh and etc[4]. It was confirmed by many domestic and international experiments[5] that astragalus can maintain the dynamic balance of the immune system, play a two-way role in immunomodulatory, significantly improve the levels of IL-2, TNF-α, INF-γ and other immune cytokines in mice of immune suppression, contribute to antioxidative capacity, promote nervous system development and nerve growth, protect nerve cells and improve immunity and so on. Whereas studies about its treatment on depression are few and there is still no identical conclusion. ObjectivesDetect IL-18, 5-HT levels in the brains of C57 BL / 6J depressed mice before and after the onset of depression, as well as after the astragalus(high, medium and low dose), paroxetine and saline treatments, respectively. Learn the antidepressant efficacy and mechanism of astragalus and explore the relevance between IL-18, 5-HT levels and the incidence of depression and possible mechanisms. Methods1. Feed C57 BL / 6J mice and successfully establish mice model of depression with CUMS modeling method;2.60 mice are randomly divided into control group, model group, paroxetine group, astragalus high, medium and low-dose treatment group;3. Detect the changes of IL-18, 5-HT levels in the brains of mice in four different time points. Results 1. Astragalus can significantly improve depressed mice in behavioral disorders; 2. IL-18 levels in the brains of mice in model group were significantly higher than the control group, while the 5-HT levels were significantly lower than the control group; 3. IL-18 levels can be significantly reduced and 5-HT levels increased in paroxetine group and high and medium-dose astragalus in the hippocampus of the brain and peripheral blood of CUMS mice model of depression. Conclusions Depression is treated with astragalus by reducing IL-18 levels and increasing 5-HT levels in the hippocampus of the mouse brain and peripheral blood.