胡椒碱调节大鼠下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺轴抗抑郁作用的实验研究

目的：观察胡椒碱对慢性应激抑郁模型大鼠行为学和血清促肾上腺皮质激素释放激素（corticotropin-releasing hormone,CRH）、促肾上腺皮质激素（adrenocorticotrophic hormone,ACTH）和皮质酮（corticos-terone,CORT）含量的影响。方法：采用慢性轻度不可预见性应激结合孤养造模。Wistar大鼠60只分为空白对照组、模型组、地昔帕明（20mg/kg）组和低（5mg/kg）、中（10mg/kg）、高（20mg/kg）剂量胡椒碱组,每组10只。观察各组体质量以及糖水摄入量等行为学指标变化;放射免疫法检测血清中CRH、ACTH和CORT含量。结果：与模型组比较,中、高剂量胡椒碱给药后,能明显增加大鼠的糖水消耗量;低、中、高剂量胡椒碱对大鼠血清CORT含量无明显影响;各个剂量胡椒碱可对抗慢性应激损伤所引起的血清CRH和ACTH含量的增加。结论：胡椒碱具有较好的抗抑郁作用,其作用可能与其对下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺轴的影响有关。

Antidepressant effects of piperine and its neuroprotective mechanism in rats

Objective： To study the antidepressant effects of piperine in chronic unpredictable mild stress （CUMS） rats and to explore the underlying mechanisms in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal （HPA） axis. Methods： Fifty rats were housed alone and exposed to an unpredicted sequence of mild stressors to induce CUMS. and then were divided into untreated group, desipramine group and low-, medium, and high-dose piperine groups. Another 10 normal rats were used as normal control. The behawor of the rats was detected by body weight and sucrose preference test, and the serum levels of corticotropin-releasing hormone （CRH）, adrenocorticotropic hormone （ ACTH ） and corticosterone （CORT） in different groups were observed by radioimmunoassay. Results： The results indicated that after 21-day administration, piperine at concentrations of 10 and 20 mg/kg could significantly improve the behavioral disorder by increasing sucrose consumption. Piperione at concentrations of 5, 10 and 20 mg/kg could remarkably reduce serum ACTH and CRH levels in the CUMS rats, but had little effect on the content of CORT. Conclusion： Piperine can relieve depression in CUMS rats by modulating the function of HPA axis.