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Updated: Aug 23, 2025
The Unpredictable Chronic Mild Stress Protocol for Inducing Anhedonia in Mice
Published on: October 24, 2018
Achyranthes aspera ameliorates stress induced depression in mice by regulating neuroinflammatory cytokines
Dinesh Gawande1, Samiksha Barewar1, Jayshree Taksande1
1Division of Neuroscience, Department of Pharmacology, Shrimati Kishoritai Bhoyar College of Pharmacy, New Kamptee, Nagpur, M.S, 441 002, India.
Background And Aim:
Achyranthes aspera Linn. (A. aspera) (family: Amaranthaceae) is highly recognized in ethnomedicine and traditional systems of Indian medicine as a nervine restorative for several psychiatric disorders. Study presented here was designed to appraise the antidepressant-like effects of A. aspera in murine model of chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) induced depression.
Experimental Procedures-:
Rodents were exposed to different stressor in unpredictive manner during CUMS protocol once a day for 4 weeks. Mice were intraperitoneally injected with A. aspera extract (2.5, 5 and 10 mg/kg) or fluoxetine (10 mg/kg) or betaine (20 mg/kg) once daily during day 15-28 of the CUMS protocol. Sucrose preference, motivation and self-care, immobility latency and plasma corticosterone were evaluated after 24 h of last stressor. After behavioral assessments TNF-α, Il-6 and BDNF immunocontent was determined in hippocampus and prefrontal cortex.
Results And Conclusion:
A. aspera extract as well as betaine improved sucrose preference, increased grooming frequency and latency in splash test and ameliorated depression-like condition in CUMS mice in Porsolt test. A. aspera treatment decreased the elevated plasma corticosterone and reversed the effect of CUMS on TNF-α, Il-6 and BDNF immunocontent in mice. The results of the present study suggest A. aspera as a promising indigenous medicine for stress associated neurobehavioral and comorbid complications.
