Antidepressant activity of astilbin: involvement of monoaminergic neurotransmitters and BDNF signal pathway.

Depression and related mood disorders are among the world's greatest public health problems. Previous studies have demonstrated that astilbin (AST) has broad pharmacological functions which may modulate numerous pathways, such as antioxidant, scavenging free radicals, anti-inflammatory and so on, similarly to some of other flavonoids. In this study, the antidepressant-like effect of AST was investigated using chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) model of depression in mice.

[Apoptosis induced by diacetyldianhydrogalactitol and its mechanism in HL-60 leukemia cells].

Aim: To investigate the apoptosis induced by diacetyldianhydrogalactitol (DADAG) and its mechanism in human HL-60 leukemia cells.

Methods: Inhibition of proliferation was measured by MTT assay. DADAG-induced apoptosis in HL-60 cells was observed by electron microscopy, flow cytometry and DNA fragmentation assay.