Preliminary Study on the Preventive Effect of Ginsenoside Rg1 on Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Mice

Author(s): Yingchang Lu

Objective To study the preventive effect of ginsenoside Rg1 on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in mice. Methods Single prolonged stress (SPS) animal model was adopted. Mice treated with normal saline, ginsenoside (Rg1) and sertraline after stress were divided into negative control group(SPS+NS), experimental group(SPS+Rg1) and positive control group(SPS+Sertraline) respectively, and a blank control group(NS) was set. On the 8th and 10th days after modeling, the viaduct cross maze experiment and the forced swimming experiment were respectively carried out. Results In the elevated plus maze experiment, the percentage of opening times of mice in the experimental group and the negative control group [(21.11±7.21) %, (20.80±9.06) %] was significantly lower than that in the blank control group and the positive control group [(44.99±7.69) %, (39.35±14.14) %,P < 0.0001].In the forced swimming experiment, the immobility time of mice in the experimental group and the negative control group [(64.05±24.27) s, (51.23±19.76) s] was significantly higher than that in the blank control group and the positive control group [(16.85±6.90) s, (33.26±20.30) s, P < 0.001]. Conclusion The normal dose of ginsenoside Rg1 could not alleviate the anxiety and fear responses in the mice with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Ginsenoside, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Single Prolonged Stress

1. Eagle, A. L., Fitzpatrick, C. J. & Perrine, S. A. Single prolonged stress impairs social and object novelty recognition in rats. Behavioural brain research 256, 591-597, doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2013.09.014 (2013).
2. Zhang, L. M. et al. Anxiolytic effects of flavonoids in animal models of posttraumatic stress disorder. Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM 2012, 623753, doi:10.1155/2012/623753 (2012).
3. Lane, R., Baldwin, D. & Preskorn, S. The SSRIs: advantages, disadvantages and differences. Journal of psychopharmacology 9, 163-178, doi:10.1177/0269881195009002011 (1995).
4. Rudakewich, M., Ba, F. & Benishin, C. G. Neurotrophic and neuroprotective actions of ginsenosides Rb(1) and Rg(1). Planta medica 67, 533-537, doi:10.1055/s-2001-16488 (2001).
5. Li, X. J. et al. Neuroprotective effects of tongluojiunao in neurons exposed to oxygen and glucose deprivation. Journal of ethnopharmacology 141, 927-933, doi:10.1016/j.jep.2012.03.042 (2012).
6. Jiang, B. et al. Antidepressant-like effects of ginsenoside Rg1 are due to activation of the BDNF signalling pathway and neurogenesis in the hippocampus. British journal of pharmacology 166, 1872-1887, doi:10.1111/j.1476-5381.2012.01902.x (2012).
7. Liberzon, I., Krstov, M. & Young, E. A. Stress-restress: effects on ACTH and fast feedback. Psychoneuroendocrinology 22, 443-453 (1997).
8. Komada, M., Takao, K. & Miyakawa, T. Elevated plus maze for mice. Journal of Visualized Experiments (2008).
9. Thoeringer, C. K. et al. The temporal dynamics of intrahippocampal corticosterone in response to stress-related stimuli with different emotional and physical load: an in vivo microdialysis study in C57BL/6 and DBA/2 inbred mice. Psychoneuroendocrinology 32, 746-757, doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2007.05.005 (2007).
10. Qiu, Z. K. et al. Repeated administration of AC-5216, a ligand for the 18 kDa translocator protein, improves behavioral deficits in a mouse model of post-traumatic stress disorder. Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry 45, 40-46, doi:10.1016/j.pnpbp.2013.04.010 (2013).
11. Matar, M. A., Cohen, H., Kaplan, Z. & Zohar, J. The effect of early poststressor intervention with sertraline on behavioral responses in an animal model of post-traumatic stress disorder. Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology 31, 2610-2618, doi:10.1038/sj.npp.1301132 (2006).
12. Redrobe, J. P. & Bourin, M. Dose-dependent influence of buspirone on the activities of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in the mouse forced swimming test. Psychopharmacology 138, 198-206 (1998).
13. Xu, S. F. et al. Improvement of ginsenoside Rg1 on hematopoietic function in cyclophosphamide-induced myelosuppression mice. European journal of pharmacology 695, 7-12, doi:10.1016/j.ejphar.2012.07.050 (2012).
14. Lapiz-Bluhm, M. D. et al. Behavioural assays to model cognitive and affective dimensions of depression and anxiety in rats. Journal of neuroendocrinology 20, 1115-1137, doi:10.1111/j.1365-2826.2008.01772.x (2008).
15. Yamamoto, S. et al. Single prolonged stress: toward an animal model of posttraumatic stress disorder. Depression and anxiety 26, 1110-1117, doi:10.1002/da.20629 (2009).