Involvement of the Monoaminergic System in the Antidepressant-Like Effect of the Crude Extract of Mentha Piperita (Lamiaceae) in the Forced Swimming Test in Mice Publisher



Abbasimaleki S¹ ; Bakhtiarian A² ; Nikoui V³
Source: Synergy Published:2017

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to investigate the involvement of the monoaminergic system in antidepressant-like effects of a characterized ethanolic extract of Mentha piperita (MP) in the forced swimming test (FST) in male mice. The animals were intraperitoneally (i.p.) treated with the MP extract (50–400 mg/kg) one hour before FST. To examine the involvement of the monoaminergic system in the antidepressant-like effect of MP, receptor antagonists were administrated fifteen minutes prior to the MP extract treatment (400 mg/kg, i.p) to mice and after one hour the FST was carried out. The MP extract (200 and 400 mg/kg, i.p.) showed a significant antidepressant-like effect (P < 0.001), in the FST, but it did not change the spontaneous locomotor activities in the open-field test. Pretreatment of animals with SCH23390, sulpiride, haloperidol, prazosin, yohimbine, WAY100135, ketanserin, and p-chlorophenylalanine (pCPA) reversed the antidepressant-like effect of the MP extract (400 mg/kg, i.p.) in the FST. In addition, the administration of reserpine increased the duration of immobility elicited by the MP extract in animals. Combinations of the MP extract (50 mg/kg, i.p.,) with sub-effective doses of fluoxetine (5 mg/kg, i.p.) or imipramine (5 mg/kg, i.p.) potentiated the antidepressant-like response. The ethanolic extract of MP exerts antidepressant-like effects, which might be mediated through dopaminergic (D1 and D2), noradrenergic (α1 and α2), and serotonergic (5-HT1A, 5-HT2A) receptors. These first results including the potentiating effect of the MP extract on fluoxetine and imipramine suggest further investigations of MP for the management of depression. © 2017 Elsevier GmbH