Background: Pioglitazone is the selective PPAR-γ receptor agonist, which is prescribed for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and may also have antidepressant effects. Nitric oxide (NO) has been involved in some crucial roles, including learning, cognition and neurogenesis as well as some neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson, Alzheimer's disease (AD) and depression. Reduced estrogen le...

Depression is one of the most common psychiatric disorders that may result in significant consequences in active population of the society. In traditional manuscripts there are many indications about the antidepressant effects of rose oil, but so far no scientific research has been done about this subject. The purpose of present study was to determine the antidepressant effects of rose oil and ...

Several lines of evidence suggest an antidepressant-like activity for 3-[(methyl-1,3-thiazol-4-yl)ethynyl]-pyridine (MTEP), a highly selective, non-competitive antagonist of metabotropic glutamate receptors subtype 5 (mGluR(5)). This effect has been observed following both acute and chronic MTEP treatments in behavioral tests and experimental models of depression, such as the forced swim test (...

Aim: Hyoscyamus niger (Solanaceae) has been used for treatment of mental disorders, epileptic mania, chronic dementia with insomnia. However, it is not yet studied in condition like depression. The present study was planned with an objective to evaluate its antidepressant like property in animal models of depression and to find out the possible mechanism underlying this action in mouse model of...

Unsatisfactory clinical efficacy and a variety of adverse effects of current antidepressant drugs have incited search for better therapy. Zinc, an antagonist of the glutamate/N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor, exhibits antidepressant-like activity in rodent tests/models of depression. Similarly to antidepressants, zinc induces brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene expression and incr...

Objective: The present study was undertaken to evaluate the antidepressant and nootropic potential of aqueous extract of Indigofera tinctoria (ITAE). Methods: Antidepressant activity of ITAE was evaluated in mice by using the forced swim test (FST), tail suspension test tail suspension test and tetrabenazine induced catalepsy and ptosis models at doses of 250 and 500 mg/kg orally. Nootropic act...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate antidepressant like effect of tramadol in mice. MATERIALS AND METHODS Tramadol was administered at three different doses (10,20 and 40 mg/kg, i.p) once daily for 7 days to Swiss albino mice of either sex. The immobility period of control and drug treated mice were recorded in tail suspension test (TST).The antidepressant effect of tramadol was compared to that of fluoxet...

The antidepressant activity of NMDA receptor antagonists has been demonstrated, and their mechanism of action was based on the assumption of their selectivity for the NMDA receptor only. However, no direct evidence for the NMDA receptor role in this activity was demonstrated. Now, in order to prove the NMDA pathway of antidepressant-like action of the NMDA antagonists in the mouse forced swim t...

Punarnavine (20 and 40 mg/kg) and fluoxetine (20 mg/kg) per se administered orally for 14 successive days significantly decreased immobility periods of both unstressed and stressed mice in forced swim test. These drugs also significantly decreased sucrose preference in both stressed and unstressed mice as compared to their respective controls, indicating significant antidepressant-like activity...

Despite many years’ studies of antidepressant drugs (ADs), their mechanism of action still remains unclear. Recently, it has been postulated that substances capable of reducing neurotransmission at the NMDA complex may represent a new class of ADs. Since several ADs have a high affinity for receptors, the binding site may be a relevant mechanism in antidepressant action. Moreover, ligands are a...