Potent rapid antidepressant effects of petroleum ether fraction of Yueju pill associated with BDNF and TrkB up-regulation

Aim To identify whether the petroleum e-ther fraction of Yueju pill (YJ-PE) could exhibit a potent rapid antidepressant effect and to investigate the underlying biological mechanism involved. Methods Fourty-four male KM mice were randomly assigned to five groups ; the control group (saline group) , low dosage of YJ-PE, middle dosage of YJ-PE, high dosage of YJ-PE and ketamine. After a single drug administration, we used tail suspension test (TST) to test the rapid antidepressant effect of YJ-PE in KM mice at 30 min. Another twenty-four male KM mice were ass-inged to three groups : control group, screened effective low dosage of YJ-PE group and ketamine group. We usd TST to assess these mice at 24 h post a single administration. Western blot was performed to examine the expression of BDNF and TrkB in hippocampus of KM mice at 30 min and 24 h post a single administration. Results An acute administration of YJ-PE decreased the immobility time of KM mice in TST and increased the expression of BDNF and TrkB as soon as 30min post a single administration and lasted at least for 24 hours. Conclusion YJ-PE (low dosage) exhibits a rapid antidepressant-like potent, and the potent rapid antidepressant effects of YJ-PE are associated with the up-regulation of BDNF and TrkB.