Antidepressant Activity of Amantidine in Albino Mice

Background: The glutamate system has been implicated in depression recently. This is a departure from previous thinking, which had focused on serotonin and norepinephrine. The glutamate system may represent a new avenue for treatment and research. NMDA and AMPA are receptors for the neurotransmitter glutamate. Blocking NMDA increases the activity of another receptor, AMPA, and this boost in AMPA activity is crucial for rapid antidepressant actions. Amantidine being a noncompetitive antagonist at NMDA receptor is evaluated for its antidepressant activity in this study. Objectives: To evaluate the antidepressant activity of amantidine and compare it with Imipramine in albino mice. Methodology: Total of 18 swiss albino male mice were used. They were divided into three treatment groups and with normal saline (control) 10mg/kg, Imipramine (standard) 10mg/kg and amantidine 26 mg/kg (test drug) given orally. Each group contained 6 animals. Duration of immobility was observed for 6 minutes in tail suspension test and for 4 minutes in forced swimming test on separate set of animals. Results: Results were analyzed by ANOVA followed by Post hoc Tukey’s test. Amantidine at the dose of 26 mg/kg significantly reduced the immobility time in both the tests compared to control (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Non-competative antagonist, amantidine has significant antidepressant activity in acute models of depression.