BACKGROUND: In our previous study, the aqueous extract of Channa striatus (family: Channidae) fillet (AECSF) showed an antidepressant-like effect in mice. However, the mechanism of the antidepressant-like effect is unknown.
AIM: The objective of this study was to explore the involvement of monoamines in the antidepressant-like effect of AECSF in mice.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: AECSF was prepared by steaming the fillets of C. striatus. The male ICR mice were pretreated with various monoaminergic antagonists viz., p-chlorophenylalanine (100 mg/kg, i.p.), prazosin (1 mg/kg, i.p.) and yohimbine (1 mg/kg, i.p.), SCH23390 (0.05 mg/kg, s.c.) and sulpiride (50 mg/kg, i.p.) followed by treatment with AECSF and tested in tail suspension test (TST). Two-way ANOVA with Tukey test were used at p < 0.05 for significance.
RESULTS: The pretreatments with p-chlorophenylalanine, prazosin and yohimbine, but not with SCH23390 and sulpiride, were able to reverse the antidepressant-like effect of AECSF in TST.
CONCLUSIONS: The antidepressant-like effect of AECSF may be mediated through the serotonergic and noradrenergic systems and not through the dopaminergic system.
Channa (C.) striatus (Malay-Haruan), is a fresh water snakehead fish, consumed as a rejuvenating diet in post-parturition period in local Malay population. The aqueous extract of C. striatus fillet (AECSF) was reported to act through serotonergic receptor system in a previous study. There is no scientific report on neuropharmacological effects of C. striatus. Based on these data, the antidepressant-like effect of C. striatus was evaluated in mice models of depression.
Interleukin 18 (IL-18) exerts pleiotropic roles in many inflammatory-related diseases including parasitic infection. Previous studies have demonstrated the promising therapeutic potential of modulating IL-18 bioactivity in various pathological conditions. However, its involvement during malaria infection has yet to be established. In this study, we demonstrated the effect of modulating IL-18 on the histopathological conditions of malaria infected mice.