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Antidepressant effect of Stillen™

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Abstract

Stillen™ has been used to treat patients with gastric mucosal ulcers and has an anti-inflammatory effect. It is well-known that neuro-inflammatory reactions are related to depression. Here we evaluated the antidepressant-like effect of Stillen™ on mice subjected to the forced swimming test (FST). Stillen™ and eupatilin (a major component of Stillen™) significantly decreased immobility times compared with the FST control group. In the Stillen™-administered group, increased levels of 5-hydroxytryptamine (serotonin) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor protein were observed in the hippocampus. Nissl bodies also increased in the hippocampus neuronal cytoplasm of the Stillen™-administered group. Stillen™ decreased levels of interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α (at the mRNA and protein levels) in the hippocampus and serum, compared with the control group. In addition, the mRNA expression of estrogen receptor-β increased after Stillen™ administration in the hippocampus. These findings suggest that Stillen™ should be viewed as a candidate antidepressant.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Academic Research fund of Hoseo University in 2014 (2014-0077).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biochip Research Center and Inflammatory Disease Research Center, Hoseo University, Asan, 336-795, Chungnam, Republic of Korea

    Hyun-Ja Jeong, Youngjin Choi & In-Cheol Kang

  2. Department of Social Welfare, The Graduate School of Ewha Womans University, Seoul, 120-750, Republic of Korea

    Jeong-Hwa Kim

  3. Department of Pharmacology, College of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University, 1 Hoegi-dong, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, 130-701, Republic of Korea

    Na-Rae Kim, Myoung-schook Yoou, Sun-Young Nam, Kyu-Youb Kim & Hyung-Min Kim

  4. Regional Innovation Center and Inflammatory Disease Research Center, Hoseo University, Asan, 336-795, Chungnam, Republic of Korea

    Jae-Bum Jang

  5. Graduate School of Biotechnology & Plant Metabolism Research Center, Kyung Hee University, Yongin, 446-701, Republic of Korea

    Nam-In Baek

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  1. Hyun-Ja Jeong
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Correspondence to Hyung-Min Kim.

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Hyun-Ja Jeong and Jeong-Hwa Kim have contributed equally to this work.

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Jeong, HJ., Kim, JH., Kim, NR. et al. Antidepressant effect of Stillen™. Arch. Pharm. Res. 38, 1223–1231 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12272-014-0472-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12272-014-0472-8

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