Animal Experimental Study on the Antidepressant Effects of Six Tranquilizing Medicines

OBJECTIVE To explore the antidepressant effect six tranquilizing medicines， namely Acorus tatarinowii， Ziziphus jujuba， Zinnober， Thinleaf Milkwort Root-bark， Poria cum Radix， and Silktree Albizziae Flower. METHODS The effects of six medicines on spontaneous activity of mice were evaluated by field test and the effects on immobility time of mice were evaluated by forced swimming test and tail suspension test. The expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein was detected by western blot. RESULTS Compared with control group， no significant difference was found in total animal activities path in field test for each group (P>0.05). However， in the forced swimming test and tail suspension test， the immobility time of mice of Acorus tatarinowii， Zinnober， Thinleaf Milkwort Root-bark， Poria cum Radix， and Silktree Albizziae Flower group was both significantly reduced (P<0.05~0.01). There was no significant difference in expression of GFAP protein for each group (P>0.05). CONCLUSION Acorus tatarinowii， Zinnober， Thinleaf Milkwort Root-bark and Poria cum Radix have antidepressant effect.