Methyl jasmonate attenuated lipopolysaccharide-induced depressive-like behaviour in mice

Depression is a recurrent neuropsychiatric disorder that affects millions of individuals worldwide and impact negatively on the patients' social functions and quality of life. Studies have shown that i.p injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induces depressive-like behavior in rodents via induction of oxidative stress and neuroinflammation. Methyl jasmonate (MJ), an isolated compound from jasmine plant has gained reputation in aromatherapy for treatment of depression, nervousness and memory deficits. This study was designed to evaluate the effects of MJ on LPS-induced depressive-like behavior in mice. Mice were given MJ (5-20 mg/kg), imipramine (10 mg/kg) or vehicle (10 mL/kg) intraperitoneally for 7 consecutive days. On day 7, treatment was carried out 30 min prior to i.p injection of LPS (830 μg/kg). Twenty four hours after LPS administration, tail suspension, forced swim and sucrose preference tests were carried out. Thereafter, serum corticosterone levels were determined using ELISA. The levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione (GSH) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) were determined in brain tissue homogenates. LPS significantly increased immobility time in the tail suspension and forced swim tests when compared with vehicle (p < 0.05), which indicates depressive-like syndromes. However, the increased immobility time was significantly reduced by MJ (5-20 mg/kg) when compared with LPS-treated group. LPS administration also altered the levels of MDA, GSH, corticosterone and TNF alpha in mice, which was significantly reversed by MJ. These findings suggest that attenuation of LPS-induced depressive-like behavior by MJ may be related to suppression of oxidative stress and release of TNF alpha.