New antidepressant pharmacotherapies that provide rapid relief of depressive symptoms are needed. The NMDA receptor antagonist ketamine exerts rapid antidepressant actions in depressed patients but also side effects that complicate its clinical utility. Ketamine promotes excitatory synaptic strength, likely by producing high-frequency correlated activity in mood-relevant regions of the forebrai...

Enhancement of AMPA receptor (AMPAR) function has emerged as a novel strategy for treatment of depression. Nevertheless, studies on AMPAR function in chronic animal models used to predict antidepressant efficacy are surprisingly lacking. We investigated the role of AMPARs in antidepressant action in an unpredictable chronic mild stress (UCMS) model in BALB/c mice. After 3 wk of UCMS, BALB/c mic...

Depression affects more than 300 million people worldwide, represents one of the leading causes of disability worldwide. Treatment is based on the use of tricyclic antidepressant, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, between others; that although are clinically effective has a delayed onset activity and produce important side effects. Medicinal plants are presented as a source of study in t...

Depression affects more than 300 million people worldwide, represents one of the leading causes of disability worldwide. Treatment is based on the use of tricyclic antidepressant, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, between others; that although are clinically effective has a delayed onset activity and produce important side effects. Medicinal plants are presented as a source of study in t...

Andrographis paniculata (Burm. F.) Wall. Ex Nees (Family: Acanthaceae), commonly known as Kalmegh or ‘‘King of Bitters”, is one of the many traditionally known medicinal plants listed in WHO herbal Monograph [1]. It is a rich natural source of bioactive labdane diterpinoids like andrographolide, neoandrographolide, isoandrographanolide, andrograpanin, etc. Amongst them andrographolide is quanti...

New antidepressant pharmacotherapies that provide rapid relief of depressive symptoms are needed. The NMDA receptor antagonist ketamine exerts rapid antidepressant actions in depressed patients but also side effects that complicate its clinical utility. Ketamine promotes excitatory synaptic strength, likely by producing high-frequency correlated activity in mood-relevant regions of the forebrai...

Treatment with most antidepressants induces expression of the gene coding for brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the hippocampus (and cerebral cortex). Recent data indicate antidepressant-like activity of group I mGlu receptor (mGluR1 and mGluR5) antagonists in animal tests/models. We now report that chronic treatment with 2-methyl-6-(phenylethynyl)-pyridine (MPEP), a selective mGlu5 r...

Preclinical and clinical studies show that cannabis modulates mood and possesses antidepressant-like properties, mediated by the agonistic activity of cannabinoids on central CB1 receptors (CB1Rs). The action of CB1R agonists on the serotonin (5-HT) system, the major transmitter system involved in mood control and implicated in the mechanism of action of antidepressants, remains however poorly ...

Annona muricata L. (Annonaceae) is widely used in the Amazon and Carribean natural medicine as an antiparasitic, insecticidal, sedative astringent for diarrhea among others. In Nigeria however, under-utilized species of plants. This study investigated antidepressant ambulatory effect A. muricata, using open field test forced swim tests on Sprague-Dawley rats administered ethanol stem-bark extra...

Antidepressants with novel targets and without side effects are in great demand. Ferulic acid (FA) is a ubiquitous phenolic acid of low toxicity, and sodium ferulate (SF) is its sodium salt. Our previous studies have revealed that FA and SF show significant protective effect on excitotoxicity, we now test its potential neuroprotective and antidepressant-like effects. MTT assay and morphological...