Behavioural and biochemical effects of fractions prepared from Banxia Houpu decoction in depression models in mice

AbstractBanxia‐houpu decoction is widely used in therapy for depression in China. The water‐EtOH extract (WE‐1) and chloroform‐soluble fraction (WE‐1‐2) of Banxia‐houpu decoction reduced the duration of immobility in the tail suspension test (TST) and the forced swimming test (FST), the efficacy of the latter was higher than that of the former. The petroleum‐soluble fraction (WE‐1‐1), ethyl acetate‐soluble fraction (WE‐1‐3) and water‐soluble fraction (WE‐1‐4) tended to possess antiimmobility effects in the TST. After a 21‐day treatment, the potency of WE‐1‐2 was almost equivalent to that of fluoxetine, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), in the TST, but WE‐1‐2 showed a lower efficiency than fluoxetine in the FST. WE‐1, as well as WE‐1‐3, was found to increase serotonin (5‐HT) and 5‐hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5‐HIAA) levels in mouse hippocampus and striatum, the activities of WE‐1 and WE‐1‐3 were much stronger than that of fluoxetine. Moreover, WE‐1‐1, WE‐1‐2 and WE‐1‐4 significantly elevated 5‐HT and 5‐HIAA levels only in the striatum, the degrees of increase of 5‐HT and 5‐HIAA levels were comparable to that of fluoxetine, which significantly enhanced the levels in all regions of animal brains. Neither fractions or fluoxetine affected norepinephrine (NE) and dopamine (DA) levels in the animal brains. It was found that WE‐1, WE‐1‐2 and fluoxetine significantly decreased serum and liver malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in the study. These results provide evidence for a potential role of antidepressive activities in the therapeutic effects of the Banxia‐houpu decoction. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.