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The monoaminergic pathways are involved in the antidepressant-like effect of quercetin

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Abstract

Quercetin, a plant-derived flavonoid, is an antioxidant and has demonstrated antidepressant and anti-inflammatory activities in several animal models. However, there is scanty information on the underlying mechanisms of its antidepressant property. This present study aimed at assessing the involvement of monoaminergic systems in the antidepressant-like activity of quercetin in experimental animals. Mice received varying doses of quercetin (25, 50 &100 mg/kg daily) and were then subjected to open field test (OPF), despair tests, the reserpine test, and the yohimbine lethality test (YLT). In addition, monoaminergic involvement was investigated by combining quercetin (100 mg/kg) with dopaminergic antagonists (haloperidol and sulpiride), adrenergic blockers (prazosin, propranolol and yohimbine), and serotonergic blockers/inhibitors (metergoline). The results showed that quercetin produced significant anti-immobility effects in the forced swim test (FST) and tail suspension test (TST), suggesting antidepressant activity. In addition, the potentiation of yohimbine lethality by quercetin further indicates its antidepressant-like property. This antidepressant action demonstrated was, however, blocked when quercetin was co-administered with dopaminergic, adrenergic and serotonergic antagonists, suggesting involvement of the monoaminergic system in the antidepressant action of quercetin. Nevertheless, quercetin did not significantly alter the locomotor activity of mice, which implies lack of stimulant effect. Taken together, these outcomes suggest that monoaminergic systems are likely involved in the anti-depressant effect of quercetin in mice.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to the technical staff of the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Afe Babalola University for their efforts.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Faculty of Basic Clinical Sciences, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria

    Olusegun Adebayo Adeoluwa, Gladys Onyinye Adeoluwa & Lily Oghenevovwero Otomewo

  2. Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Delta State University, Abraka, Delta State, Nigeria

    Anthony Taghogho Eduviere

  3. Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria

    Funmilayo Racheal Adeniyi

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  1. Olusegun Adebayo Adeoluwa
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Contributions

Adeoluwa OA: Conceptualization, investigation, methodology, writing- original draft

Eduviere: AT: Conceptualization, Investigation, Writing – review & editing

Otomewo LO: Roles/Writing – original draft

Adeoluwa OG: Data curation, Roles/Writing – original draft

Adeniyi FR: Roles/Writing- original draft

The authors declare that all data were generated in-house and that no paper mill was used.

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Correspondence to Olusegun Adebayo Adeoluwa.

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Ethical approval was sought from the Animal Care and Use Research Ethics Committee for the experimental procedures. It was carried out in line with the NIH's care and animal use guidelines.

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Adeoluwa, O.A., Eduviere, A.T., Adeoluwa, G.O. et al. The monoaminergic pathways are involved in the antidepressant-like effect of quercetin. Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Arch Pharmacol 397, 2497–2506 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00210-023-02789-8

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