COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF ANTIDEPRESSANT EFFECTS OF MINOCYCLINE AND FLUOXETINE IN MALE WISTAR RATS.
Main Article Content
Keywords
Depression, Minocycline, neuroinflammation, forced swim test, Fluoxetine.
Abstract
Background: Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the most prescribed drugs for the treatment of Major Depressive Disorders (MDD). But many patients do not respond adequately to conventional antidepressant therapy. Hence there is a continued need for development of novel efficacious depression interventions. Minocycline has a pronounced inhibitory effect on the brain’s microglia, and can beneficially target the pathophysiology of depression. Inflammation is strongly associated with depression and pro-inflammatory medications carry the potential to induce depressive symptoms in humans. Microglia are the primary immune cells that mediate neuroinflammation and minocycline is capable of reducing inflammation by directly suppressing microglia activation and by indirectly inhibiting microglia-induced inflammatory processes. Keeping this in mind the present study was done to compare the antidepressant effects of minocycline with fluoxetine in male wistar rats.
Methods: 18 Male Wistar Rats, aged 8-10 months, each weighing 150-200 gm were included in the study. Each animal was subjected to chronic mild stressors for 14 days to create depression. After 14 days, the rats underwent behavioral tests like immobility by Forced swim test and Open field tests and were tested for Sucrose preference tests. The rats were divided randomly into 5 groups with each group having 6 animals. Group I (Minocycline 25mg/kg/day), Group II (Minocycline 50mg/kg/day), Group III (Minocycline100mg/kg/day), Fluoxetine(30mg/kg/day) and group V rats were given RO water once daily via oral route for a period of 28 days.After 28 days, the animals were again subjected to forced swim test, open field tests and sucrose preference tests. Intergroup and intragroup comparison using ANOVA and t tests was done. p value<0.05 was considered significant.
Results: The study showed significant antidepressant-like effects in Groups II, III, and IV in swim Despair Test post drug treatment. There were no significant locomotor changes in any group in open field test. Improvement in anhedonia-like behavior in Groups I, II, and IV using Sucrose Preference Test was significant.
Conclusion: The present study revealed that minocycline showed antidepressant like effects at different doses which can be further explored using larger sample size.
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Shalu Bawa
Professor and Head, Dept. of Pharmacology, Graphic Era Institute of Medical Sciences, Dehradun
Kavita Singh
Associate Professor, Dept. of Physiology, SGRRIM&HS, Dehradun,
Shruti Malhotra
Assistant Professor, SGRRIM&HS, Dehradun,
Roopali Mittal
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Physiology, SGRRIM&HS, Dehradun
Suman Bala
Professor, Dept. of Pharmacology, SGRRIM&HS, Dehradun
