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. 2010 Jun;19(1):30-8.
doi: 10.5607/en.2010.19.1.30. Epub 2010 Jun 30.

Antidepressant-like Effect of Kaempferol and Quercitirin, Isolated from Opuntia ficus-indica var. saboten

Soo-Hyun Park  1 , Yun-Beom Sim, Pyung-Lim Han, Jin-Koo Lee, Hong-Won Suh
Affiliations

Antidepressant-like Effect of Kaempferol and Quercitirin, Isolated from Opuntia ficus-indica var. saboten

Soo-Hyun Park et al. Exp Neurobiol. 2010 Jun.

Abstract

Opuntia ficus-indica var. saboten. is widely cultivated in Jeju Island (South Korea) for use in manufacture of health foods. This study described antidepressant effect of two flavonoids (kaempferol and quercitrin) isolated from the Opuntia ficus-indica var. saboten. The expression of the hypothalamic POMC mRNA or plasma β-endorphin levels were increased by extract of Opuntia ficus-indica var. saboten or its flavoniods administered orally. In addition, antidepressant activity was studied using tail suspension test (TST), forced swimming test (FST) and rota-rod test in chronically restraint immobilization stress group in mice. After restraint stress (2 hrs/day for 14 days), animals were kept in cage for 14 days without any further stress, bet with drugs. Mice were fed with a diet supplemented for 14 days and during the behavioral test period with kaempferol or quercitrin (30 mg/kg/day). POMC mRNA or plasma β-endorphin level was increased by extract of Opuntia ficus-indica var. saboten and its flavoniods. In addition, immobility time in TST and FST was significantly reduced by kaempferol or quercitrin. In rota-rod test, the time of permanence was maintained to the semblance of control group in turning at 15 rpm. Our results suggest that two flavonoids (kaempferol and quercitrin) isolated from the Opuntia ficus-indica var. saboten. show a potent antidepressant effect.

Keywords: Opuntia ficus-indica var. saboten; antidepressant; kaempferol; quercitirin.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Structures of kaempferol and quercitirin.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
The expression of the hypothalamic POMC mRNA and plasma β-endorphin level elicited by extract of Opintia ficus-indica var. saboten administered orally. (A) For Northern blot analysis, the whole mouse hypothalamus was dissected. Northern blot analysis was performed at time points (30, 90 and 180 min) after saline or extract of Opintia ficus-indica var. saboten (1,000 and 2,000 mg/kg) administered orally. Total constitutively expressed ribosomal RNA (18S and 28S) was used as an internal loading control. The number of animal used for each group was 3. (B) For ELISA, the whole mouse blood sample was collected. ELISA was performed at time points (30, 90 and 180 min) after saline or extract of Opintia ficus-indica var. saboten (1,000 and 2,000 mg/kg) administered orally. The vertical bars indicate the standard error of the mean. The number of animal used for each group was 8~10 (*p<0.05, ***p<0.001, compared with control group).
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
The plasma β-endorphin level elicited by kaempferol and quercitirin administered orally. For ELISA, the whole mouse blood sample was collected. ELISA was performed at 90 min after vehicle control or kaempferol (10, 25 and 50 mg/kg) (A) and saline or quercitirin (10, 25 and 50 mg/kg) (B) administered orally. The vertical bars indicate the standard error of the mean. The number of animal used for each group was 8~10 (***p<0.001, compared with control group).
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Effect of Kaempferol and quercitirin on immobility time in the TST, FST and Rota-rod test. (A) Behavioral analyses were performed in the following sequence: 1) Tail suspension test (TST) 2 week after the final stress loading (on day 15) (B), 2) Forced swimming test (FST) 2 days (on day 16) (C), and 3) Rota-rod test on day 18 (D). The vertical bars indicate the standard error of the mean. The number of animal used for each group was 8~10 (*p<0.05, **p<0.01, ***p<0.001, compared with control group).
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