October - December 2012, Volume 8, Issue 4

Hu GM, Shen G M, Xu H

Cimicifuga racemosa alters behavior and PVN c-fos expression in ovariectomized rats subjected to the forced swimming test

Acta Endo (Buc) 2012, 8 (4): 529-537
doi: 10.4183/aeb.2012.529

Cimicifuga racemosa (CR) is widely used in the treatment of menopausal symptoms, including hormone-related affective disorders in women. Mechanistic studies suggest that unlike hormone-replacement therapy, CR does not stimulate cancerous growth.\r\nObjective: to evaluate CR safety and the antidepressant-like effects compared to estrogen treatment.\r\nMaterials and Methods: we used the forced swimming test (FST) to address the hypotheses that CR alters behavior of ovariectomized (OVX) rats in the FST and the FST-induced expression of c-fos in the rat paraventricular nucleus (PVN). After the FST, all animals were perfused, and the brains were processed for c-fos immunocytochemistry; the plasma was processed for radioimmunoassay of plasma estrogen levels.\r\nResults: OVX group animals spent significantly (P<0.05) more time struggling than CR and E2 groups. The CR and E2 groups animals spent little time in struggle time decreased. CR and E2 groups animals spent significantly (P<0.05) more time swimming than OVX group animals.\r\nConclusion: CR was demonstrated to have antidepressant effect, and establishing the safety symptoms in women in whom hormone-replacement therapy is contraindicated.

Keywords: cimicifuga racemosa,estrogen, forced swimming test, ovariectomized rat, c-fos.

Correspondence: Hao XU, Department of Histology and Embryology, Anhui College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Meishan Road 103, Hefei, Anhui Province, 230038, China,E-mail: xhao@ustc.edu