Romanian Society of Pharmaceutical Sciences

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EFFECTS OF ANACYCLUS PYRETHRUM RADIX EXTRACT ON BEHAVIOURAL DISORDERS AND ACTIVATION OF MICROGLIA IN DEPRESSIVE RATS VIA TLR4/MYD88/NF-ΚB SIGNALLING PATHWAY

YONGHUA QI, DI WU *, CONG WANG

College of Jiamusi, Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Jiamusi, 154007, China.

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The extract of Anacyclus pyrethrum root (Asteraceae) is widely used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and has demonstrated antidepressant effects, yet its specific mechanism of action remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the effects of Anacyclus pyrethrum root extract on behavioural disorders and the regulation of microglial activation in a rat model of depression. Anaky roots were administered in three different doses (150 mg/kg bw, 300 mg/kg bw and 600 mg/kg bw) in an experiment involving fifty adult male rats divided into control, model and groups treated with different doses of Anacyclus pyrethrum root. Chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) was used to induce depression in rats and sucrose preference (SP), tail suspension time (TST) and swimming immobility time (SIT) were measured in the various rat groups. Serum levels of dopamine (DA), serotonin (5-HT), norepinephrine (NE) and corticosterone were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Additionally, the number of immunopositive cells for ionized calcium-binding adaptor molecule 1 (Iba-1), interleukin (IL)-1β, tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), IL-10, toll- like receptor 4 (TLR4), myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88) and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) in brain tissue was assessed via immunohistochemistry. The results indicated that Anacyclus pyrethrum root extract reduced depression-induced behavioral disorders in a dose-dependent manner and inhibited microglial activation. These effects may be mediated through the inhibition of the TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB signalling pathway, which exerts antidepressant action.