Evaluation of the effect of soybean diet on interferon-α-induced depression in male mice

Objective: Interferon-α (IFN) therapy can cause depressive symptom which may lead to drug discontinuation. By interfering with tryptophan pathway, the available level of tryptophan required for serotonin synthesis decreases which could be related to depression. The aim of this study was to evaluate...

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Main Authors: Yazdan Azimi Fashi, Azadeh Mesripour, Valiollah Hajhashemi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Mashhad University of Medical Sciences 2017-08-01
Series:Avicenna Journal of Phytomedicine
Subjects:
Online Access:http://ajp.mums.ac.ir/article_8889_2a1679546dd677b519099e02c04416d6.pdf
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author Yazdan Azimi Fashi
Azadeh Mesripour
Valiollah Hajhashemi
author_facet Yazdan Azimi Fashi
Azadeh Mesripour
Valiollah Hajhashemi
author_sort Yazdan Azimi Fashi
collection DOAJ
description Objective: Interferon-α (IFN) therapy can cause depressive symptom which may lead to drug discontinuation. By interfering with tryptophan pathway, the available level of tryptophan required for serotonin synthesis decreases which could be related to depression. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether soybean diet could improve IFN-induced depression. Materials and Methods: Male mice weighing 28±3 g were used in the forced swimming test (FST) as an animal model of depression; also, locomotor activity was recorded. IFN 16×105 IU/kg was injected subcutaneously for 6 days. Animals were fed with regular diet or soybean diet at 3 concentrations throughout the experiment. Fluoxetine was the reference drug. To check whether the tryptophan content in the soy bean diet was effective, a group of animals was injected with a single dose of tryptophan on the test day. Results: IFN-α increased the immobility time in the FST (192 sec ± 5.4), that denotes depression in mice. Soybean diets caused less immobility that was more profound with 50% soybean (26.4 sec ± 6). This diet overcame the depression caused by IFN in the FST (54 sec±18). This result was parallel with that of tryptophan injected to animals (38 sec±17). All the animals showed normal locomotor activity. Conclusion: For the first time, we showed that soybean diet could counteract with depression caused by IFN-α. Since tryptophan therapy had similar effects, possibly the tryptophan content of soybean had induced the serotonin synthesis. Thus, not only less harmful kynurenine was produced but also more serotonin was available in the brain to overcome depression. However, this interpretation needs further evaluations.
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spelling doaj.art-47fa81c82cad421d9b00cc1fb74b36fc2022-12-22T02:42:19ZengMashhad University of Medical SciencesAvicenna Journal of Phytomedicine2228-79302228-79492017-08-017543644310.22038/ajp.2017.20914.17938889Evaluation of the effect of soybean diet on interferon-α-induced depression in male miceYazdan Azimi Fashi0Azadeh Mesripour1Valiollah Hajhashemi2Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical sciences, Isfahan university of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, IranIsfahan Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical sciences, Isfahan university of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, IranDepartment of Pharmacology and Toxicology, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical sciences, Isfahan university of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, IranObjective: Interferon-α (IFN) therapy can cause depressive symptom which may lead to drug discontinuation. By interfering with tryptophan pathway, the available level of tryptophan required for serotonin synthesis decreases which could be related to depression. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether soybean diet could improve IFN-induced depression. Materials and Methods: Male mice weighing 28±3 g were used in the forced swimming test (FST) as an animal model of depression; also, locomotor activity was recorded. IFN 16×105 IU/kg was injected subcutaneously for 6 days. Animals were fed with regular diet or soybean diet at 3 concentrations throughout the experiment. Fluoxetine was the reference drug. To check whether the tryptophan content in the soy bean diet was effective, a group of animals was injected with a single dose of tryptophan on the test day. Results: IFN-α increased the immobility time in the FST (192 sec ± 5.4), that denotes depression in mice. Soybean diets caused less immobility that was more profound with 50% soybean (26.4 sec ± 6). This diet overcame the depression caused by IFN in the FST (54 sec±18). This result was parallel with that of tryptophan injected to animals (38 sec±17). All the animals showed normal locomotor activity. Conclusion: For the first time, we showed that soybean diet could counteract with depression caused by IFN-α. Since tryptophan therapy had similar effects, possibly the tryptophan content of soybean had induced the serotonin synthesis. Thus, not only less harmful kynurenine was produced but also more serotonin was available in the brain to overcome depression. However, this interpretation needs further evaluations.http://ajp.mums.ac.ir/article_8889_2a1679546dd677b519099e02c04416d6.pdfInterferon-αDepressionTryptophanSoybeanSerotonin
spellingShingle Yazdan Azimi Fashi
Azadeh Mesripour
Valiollah Hajhashemi
Evaluation of the effect of soybean diet on interferon-α-induced depression in male mice
Avicenna Journal of Phytomedicine
Interferon-α
Depression
Tryptophan
Soybean
Serotonin
title Evaluation of the effect of soybean diet on interferon-α-induced depression in male mice
title_full Evaluation of the effect of soybean diet on interferon-α-induced depression in male mice
title_fullStr Evaluation of the effect of soybean diet on interferon-α-induced depression in male mice
title_full_unstemmed Evaluation of the effect of soybean diet on interferon-α-induced depression in male mice
title_short Evaluation of the effect of soybean diet on interferon-α-induced depression in male mice
title_sort evaluation of the effect of soybean diet on interferon α induced depression in male mice
topic Interferon-α
Depression
Tryptophan
Soybean
Serotonin
url http://ajp.mums.ac.ir/article_8889_2a1679546dd677b519099e02c04416d6.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT yazdanazimifashi evaluationoftheeffectofsoybeandietoninterferonainduceddepressioninmalemice
AT azadehmesripour evaluationoftheeffectofsoybeandietoninterferonainduceddepressioninmalemice
AT valiollahhajhashemi evaluationoftheeffectofsoybeandietoninterferonainduceddepressioninmalemice