ACTA ENDOCRINOLOGICA (BUC)

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.