Involvement of the GABAA Receptor in the Antidepressant-Like Effects Produced by Low and High Doses of the Flavonoid Chrysin in the Rat: A Longitudinal Study.

Background: The flavonoid chrysin produces rapid and long-lasting anxiolytic- and antidepressant-like effects in rats. However, it is not known whether low and high doses of chrysin produce differential anti-immobility effects through the Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid sub-type A (GABAA) receptor. The goal of this work was therefore to compare low and high doses of chrysin for their effects on depression-like behavior in a longitudinal study.

Participation of the Serotonergic System and Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor in the Antidepressant-like Effect of Flavonoids.

Depressive disorders are among the most disabling diseases experienced around the world, and their incidence has significantly increased over the last few decades due to multiple environmental, social, and biological factors. The search for new pharmacological alternatives to treat depression is a global priority. In preclinical research, molecules obtained from plants, such as flavonoids, have shown promising antidepressant-like properties through several mechanisms of action that have not been fully elucidated, including crossing of the blood brain barrier (BBB).

Zebrafish as a Useful Tool in the Research of Natural Products With Potential Anxiolytic Effects.

Zebrafish () is a popular and valuable species used in many different biomedical research areas. The complex behavior that fish exhibit in response to different stimuli allows researchers to explore the biological and pharmacological basis of affective and mood disorders. In this sense, anxiety is commonly studied in preclinical research with animal models in rodents.

Estrous cycle modulates the anxiogenic effects of caffeine in the elevated plus maze and light/dark box in female rats.

Caffeine is a commonly used stimulant of the central nervous system that reduces fatigue, increases alertness, and exerts positive effects on emotion through actions on various brain structures. High doses of caffeine can cause headaches, heart palpitations, hyperactivity, and anxiety symptoms. Consequently, reducing the consumption of stimulant substances, such as sugar and caffeine, is proposed to ameliorate symptoms of premenstrual syndrome in women.

Chrysin reduces anxiety-like behavior through actions on GABA receptors during metestrus-diestrus in the rat.

Low concentrations of ovarian hormones, among other factors, are associated with greater vulnerability to negative effects of environmental stressors and may trigger anxiety symptoms in females. The flavonoid chrysin (5,7-dihydroxyflavone) exerts anxiolytic-like effects in male and ovariectomized female rats, but it is unknown if chrysin could reduce anxiety-like behavior that naturally occurs through the ovarian cycle phases. The present study evaluated the effect of chrysin on anxiety-like behavior associated with the ovarian cycle phases in rats and the participation of γ-aminobutyric acid-A (GABA) receptors in these actions.

Sensitivity to diazepam after a single session of forced swim stress in weaning Wistar rats.

The present study investigated the sensitivity to stress and diazepam in weaning (21-day old) Wistar rats. A single 15-min session of forced swimming was used to induce anxiety-like behavior. The group that was forced to swim exhibited an increase in anxiety-like behavior in the elevated plus maze (EPM) and open field test (OFT) compared to the non-stressed group.

Long-term ovariectomy increases anxiety- and despair-like behaviors associated with lower Fos immunoreactivity in the lateral septal nucleus in rats.

In woman, surgical menopause is associated with anxiety and depression symptoms. Ovariectomy in rats has been proposed as an experimental model of surgical menopause, but its long-term effects on anxiety- and depression-like behaviors and relationship with cellular changes in specific brain structures are unknown. The effects of ovariectomy on anxiety- and despair-like behavior 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15-weeks postovariectomy were evaluated.

A Fatty Acids Mixture Reduces Anxiety-Like Behaviors in Infant Rats Mediated by GABA Receptors.

Fatty acids (C6-C18) found in human amniotic fluid, colostrum, and maternal milk reduce behavioral indicators of experimental anxiety in adult Wistar rats. Unknown, however, is whether the anxiolytic-like effects of fatty acids provide a natural mechanism against anxiety in young offspring. The present study assessed the anxiolytic-like effect of a mixture of lauric acid, myristic acid, palmitic acid, palmitoleic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid, elaidic acid, and linoleic acid in Wistar rats on postnatal day 28.

Myristic acid produces anxiolytic-like effects in Wistar rats in the elevated plus maze.

A mixture of eight fatty acids (linoleic, palmitic, stearic, myristic, elaidic, lauric, oleic, and palmitoleic acids) at similar concentrations identified in human amniotic fluid produces anxiolytic-like effects comparable to diazepam in Wistar rats. However, individual effects of each fatty acid remain unexplored. In Wistar rats, we evaluated the separate action of each fatty acid at the corresponding concentrations previously found in human amniotic fluid on anxiety-like behaviour.

Defensive burying test in postweaning rats: use of a small round chamber.

The defensive burying test is an experimental model that is used to explore anxiety-like behavior in adult rats. Because the expression of anxiety-like behavior may differ between infant and adult rats, we tested the impact of chambers with different sizes and shapes on defensive burying in 28-day-old Wistar rats. The first two chambers had base areas of 560 cm, but one was rectangular and the other round.