Abstract
Pumpkin has received significant attention due to its nutritional compounds that have antioxidant, antifatigue, and anti-inflammatory effects. This study is aimed at assessing the antidepressant-like effect of L. Cucurbita pepo, sweet pumpkin, in an animal model of chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) and investigating its effect on the histological structure of hippocampus compared to fluoxetine. Forty male albino rats assigned into the negative control, positive control (CUMS), and Flu-treated and pumpkin-treated groups (n = 10) were utilized in this study. Exposing rats to CUMS continued for 28 days, and treatments used were applied during the last 14 days of exposure. Behavioral, biochemical, and histopathological changes were assessed after 28 days. In this study, pumpkin significantly reduced the immobility time (p = 0.02), corticosterone (p < 0.001), TNF-α, IL-6 (p < 0.001), and malondialdehyde (p = 0.003), whereas it significantly increased the level of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, and glutathione peroxidase (GPX) in the serum of rats exposed to CUMS. Pumpkin markedly relieved the degenerative and atrophic changes observed in the CA3 region and the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus. It significantly reduced caspase-3 and increased glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) immunoexpression in the CA3 and DG. In conclusion, administration of pumpkin extract improved the behavioral, biochemical, and hippocampal pathological alternations induced in rats after exposure to CUMS in a comparable pattern to fluoxetine. This study highlighted the potential efficacy of pumpkin in alleviating depression disorder either alone or in conjugation with conventional antidepressant therapy.
Highlights
In modernized countries, regardless of the income level, there is an increment of psychological problems like depression [1]
It was notable that there was no significant difference (p = 0:42) in the total immobility time between the chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS)+Flu and CUMS+Pump groups (Figure 2(a)). When it came to the elevated plus maze (EPM) test, it was found that the rats of the CUMS group spent a significantly shorter time in the open arm (p < 0:001) than that of the control rats, whereas those of the Flu- and Pump-treated groups spent a significantly longer time (p < 0:001) than that of the untreated CUMS group with no significant difference (p = 0:45) between these two treated groups (Figure 2(b))
The mean number of rat entries to the closed arm of the EPM was significantly higher (p < 0:001) in the CUMS group compared to the control group, while it was significantly lower in both Flu- and Pump-treated groups (p < 0:001, p = 0:02) compared to the untreated CUMS group with no significant difference (p = 0:12) between the treated groups (Figure 2(c))
Summary
Regardless of the income level, there is an increment of psychological problems like depression [1]. Dentate gyrus (DG), CA1, and CA3 are distinct subregions of hippocampus, and each subregion has its physiological and pathological role in relation to depression behaviors and antidepressant effects [6]. It was Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity reported that in patients with major depression, there was hippocampal atrophy as showed by brain radiograph [7]. Caspase-3 is a cysteine protease marker of apoptosis, and its activation by mitochondria is implicated in longterm depression [9]. This opens a promising path to understanding more about the molecular level interaction between apoptosis and long-term depression [8]
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