Agmatine induces anxiolysis in the elevated plus maze task in adult rats

Agmatine is an endogenous released polyamine recently proposed to be a putative neurotransmitter, however its physiological role is still to be determined. We investigated the hypothesis that agmatine, systemically administered to adult Wistar rats, might exert anxiolytic-like behavior in the elevated plus maze (EPM) and the open field. Agmatine (1, 10, 20, 40 and 100 mg/kg) and saline were administered i.p. 30 min before the EPM and the open field. Administration of agmatine (20 and 40 mg/kg) increased the time spent in the open arms of the EPM, as compared to the saline group, with no effect on locomotion activity in the open field. However, 100 mg/kg of agmatine significantly reduced the number of entries into enclosed arms of the EPM and the total number of crossings in the open field. We suggest that agmatine, in doses of 20 and 40 mg/kg, causes a mild anxiolytic-like behavior and discuss the possibility that this first reported effect could be caused either by the inhibition of nitric oxide synthase, the blockage of NMDA receptors or by the activation of alpha-2-adrenoceptors.