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Carnosine-induced antidepressant-like activity in rats
Shozo Tomonaga1, Haruka Yamane, Eiichiro Onitsuka
1Laboratory of Advanced Animal and Marine Bioresources, Graduate School of Bioresource and Bioenvironmental Sciences, Kyushu University, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka-shi, 812-8511, Japan.
Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior
|April 2, 2008
Summary
Chicken breast extract (CBEX) and its component carnosine show antidepressant-like effects. Both reduced immobility in rats, suggesting potential for depression management.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Pharmacology
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Depression is a significant cause of disability worldwide.
- Effective prevention and treatment strategies for depression are crucial.
- The forced swimming test is a common animal model for evaluating antidepressant-like activity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the potential antidepressant-like effects of chicken breast extract (CBEX) and carnosine.
- To determine if CBEX or carnosine impacts immobility time in a rat model of depression.
- To explore the neurochemical mechanisms underlying the effects of CBEX and carnosine.
Main Methods:
- Male Wistar rats were administered a single oral dose of CBEX or carnosine.
- Depressive-like behavior was assessed using the forced swimming test (immobility time).
- Locomotor activity and rearing were measured in the open field test.
- Norepinephrine metabolite levels (3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol) in the hippocampus were analyzed.
Main Results:
- Carnosine significantly decreased immobility time in the forced swimming test (P<0.05).
- CBEX showed a trend towards decreasing immobility time (P=0.09).
- Both CBEX and carnosine significantly reduced hippocampal norepinephrine metabolite levels, indicating reduced noradrenergic activity.
- Neither treatment affected general locomotor activity or rearing, ruling out motor stimulation as the cause of reduced immobility.
Conclusions:
- CBEX exhibits antidepressant-like effects in rats, potentially mediated by carnosine.
- Carnosine contributes to the antidepressant-like properties of CBEX.
- These findings suggest CBEX and carnosine may be beneficial for managing depression.
