Study On Anti-depressant Activity Of Okra Seed And Related Mechanism In Mice

Okra(Abelmoschus esculentus Linn.),belonging to the family Malvaceae,is one of the most important vegetables widely grown in the world as a tonic and functional food.Studies have shown the anti-fatigue effect,antioxidant activity and anti-tumor activity of okra seed.However,research on anti-depressant effect of okra seed is seldom reported.This investigation studied the anti-depressant effect of okra seed water extract on acute model and sleep interruption depression model,by experiments such as forced swimming test(FST),tail suspension test(TST),novelty-suppressed feeding test(NSF)and open field test.The result showed okra seed water extract(800mg/Kg,1600mg/Kg)could remarkably shorten the immobility time of TST and FST and could reduce the feeding time of NSF,showing significant anti-depressant effect to mice despair depression model and sleep interruption model.To investigate the mechnisam of anti-depressant effect of okra seed,neurotransmitter contents of hippocampus and cortex,hormone levels of blood serum,MDA content,SOD vitality and T-AOC of brain were measured by LC-MS/MS and ELISA.The result indicated that okra seed increased the 5-HT,DA,NE,GABA and Ach in hippocampus of mice,decreased the content of corticosterone and adrenocorticotropic hormone in blood serum,decreased content of MDA and enhanced SOD vitality and T-AOC of mice brain.Thereby,the anti-depressant effect of okra seed water extracts may be produced by increasing monoamine neurotransmitter,inhibiting excess accentuation of HPA and decreasing oxidative stress injuries.FRAP assay was used for evaluating the total antioxidant capacity of okra seed,the ability to eliminate DPPH · and the reducing power were also tested.The result which showed the activity of okra seed was the same as BHT indicated the anti-depressant activity of okra seed was related to the antioxidant activity.