Acipimox mitigates depression like behavior following high fat rich diet in rats

Acipimox (ACPX), a niacin derivative, has demonstrated antioxidant activity In vitro and In vivo; however, it has not been widely used in treating neurological problems. The present study examined the effects of Acipimox on body weight, dietary intake, depressive symptoms, oxide-neuroinflammation, 5-HT metabolism, and 5-HT1A receptor expression in hypothalamus of rats. Forty eight (n = 8) male albino rats were randomly divided into six groups (i) Vehicle (Veh)+ normal diet (ND) (ii) ND + ACPX (25 mg/mL/kg; low dose) (iii) ND+ ACPX (50 mg/mL/kg; high dose) (iv) Veh +High fat rich diet (HFRD) (v) HFRD+ACPX (25 mg/mL/kg; low dose (vi) HFRD+ACPX (50 mg/mL/kg; high dose). Animals were given their respective treatment for 8 weeks. After that, behavioral tests i.e. tail suspension test (TST) and forced swim test (FST) performed for depression-like behavior assessment. Animals were decapitated and the hypothalamus was isolated from the brain for biochemical and neurochemical analysis. Results showed that, HFRD induced depression like behavior and increased body weight and food intake was prevented by repeated administration of ACPX (both doses). HFRD induced increased oxido-neuroinflammation, altered serotonin metabolism and serotonin-1A receptor relative expression in the hypothalamus were regulated by ACPX (both doses). In conclusion, HFRD-induced behavioral deficits (depression like behavior) mitigated by ACPX through its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and neuromodulatory properties. It is recommended that use of ACPX could be helpful for HFRD-induced behavioral impairment i.e. depression.