@article {125, title = {Antidepressant-Like Effects of Barley (Hordeum vulgare) in a Mouse Model of Reserpine-Induced Depression}, journal = {Pharmacognosy Research}, volume = {12}, year = {2020}, month = {May 2020}, pages = {199-204}, type = {Original Article}, chapter = {199}, abstract = {

Background: Depression is a mental disorder characterized by low mood and loss of pleasure or interest in usual activities and often results in cognitive dysfunction such as impairment of learning and memory. For most of the synthetic antidepressants, severe defects such as narrow spectrum, adverse reactions, high drug price, and easy recurrence exist. Barley is one of the richest sources of antioxidants; therefore, we examined whether barley has an effect on depression, learning, and memory in a mouse model of reserpine-induced depression. Methods: Mice were individually acclimated for 1 week and then treated with barley (200 mg/kg, p. o.) or/and fluoxetine (20 mg/kg, i. p.) for 4 weeks prior to reserpine treatment. Mice were then injected with a single dose of reserpine (2 mg/kg, i. p.) or vehicle (20 mg/kg, i. p.) and assessed for mouse behaviors 1 h prior to tests. Mouse behavior was examined in the forced swimming test, tail suspension test, hole-board test, novel place/object recognition, social interaction test, spontaneous locomotor movement (SLMA), and stereotype movement following completion of the treatment protocol. Results: There was a significant antidepressant-like effect in the forced swimming test among the barley group than in the reserpine-treated group, and these decreases were significantly attenuated to a similar extent by treatment with fluoxetine. The effect of barley on the mean duration of immobility time was significantly attenuated in comparison with the reserpine group (P \< 0.05). Moreover, the number of head pokes was significantly increased in the barley group in comparison with the reserpine or fluoxetine group. The mean duration of immobility time in the tail suspension test was significantly reduced in mice in the barley group in comparison with the reserpine group (P \< 0.05). Furthermore, the social behavior test indicated that mice treated with fluoxetine have a significant increase in the distance covered by the mice toward familiar ones compared to the barley group, whereas the distance measured to the stranger mice was significantly increased among those who received fluoxetine with barley in comparison with the barley group alone. Finally, novel object recognition test, spontaneous locomotor movements (SLMA), and the stereotype movements showed that barley significantly decreased time spent on exploring the novel objects as well as in stereotype movements in comparison with the reserpine group. Conclusion: We conclude that barley can ameliorate depressive-like effects. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that barley may be effective in treating patients with depression.

}, keywords = {Antidepressant-like effects, Barley, Forced swimming test, Novel object recognition test, Social behavior test, Spontaneous locomotor and stereotype movements, Tail suspension test}, doi = {10.4103/pr.pr_105_19}, author = {Hamad Rashdan Ali Al-Harbi and Sameer Al Harthi and Mansour Suliman and Omar Saadah and Ahmed Esmat and Lateef M. Khan and Shahid Karim} } @article {678, title = {Antidepressant-like Effects of Young Green Barley Leaf (Hordeum vulgare L.) in the Mouse Forced Swimming Test}, journal = {Pharmacognosy Research}, volume = {4}, year = {2012}, month = {december,2011}, pages = {22-26}, type = {Original Article}, chapter = {22-26}, abstract = {

Background: Young green barley leaf is one of the richest sources of antioxidants and has been widely consumed for health management in Japan. In this study, we examined whether oral administration of young green barley leaf has an antidepressant effect on the forced swimming test in mice. Materials and Methods: Mice were individually forced to swim in an open cylindrical container, one hour after oral administration of young green barley leaf (400 or 1000 mg / kg) or imipramine (100 mg / kg). Expression of mRNA for nerve growth factor (NGF), brain-derived neurotrophic factor, and glucocorticoid receptor in the brain was analyzed using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results: There was a significant antidepressant-like effect in the forced swimming test; both 400 and 1000 mg / kg young green barley leaves, as well as the positive control imipramine (100 mg / kg), reduced the immobility duration compared to the vehicle group. The expression of mRNA for NGF detected in the hippocampus immediately after the last swimming test was higher than that in the non-swimming group (Nil). Oral administration of imipramine suppressed this increase to the level of the Nil group. Young green barley leaf (400 and 1000 mg / kg) also showed a moderate decrease in the expression of mRNA for NGF, in a dose-dependent manner. Conclusion: Oral administration of young green barley leaf is able to produce an antidepressant-like effect in the forced swimming test. Consequently it is possible that the antidepressant-like effects of the young green barley leaf are, at least in part, mediated by an inhibition of the increase in the hippocampus levels of NGF.

}, keywords = {Antidepressant-like effect, Corticosterone, Forced swimming test, Hippocampus, Nerve growth factor, Young green barley leaf}, doi = {10.4103/0974-8490.91030}, author = {Katsunori Yamaura and Noriyuki Nakayama and Maki Shimada and Yuanyuan Bi and Hideki Fukata and Koichi Ueno} }