The antidepressant efficacy of flurbiprofen in mice: Behavioural assessment

Abstract

Flurbiprofen is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medication (NSAID). The psychological effect of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) is a source of contention based on clinical and experimental evidence. As a result, the goal of our study was to assess the antidepressant effects of various flurbiprofen doses in mice. We evaluated the effect of oral administration of flurbiprofen at 10, 20, and 40 mg/kg in the tail suspension and forced swimming tests after 1 h of treatment. Fluoxetine (10 mg/kg, i.p.) was used as a positive control. Flurbiprofen at 40 mg/kg showed a significant antidepressant effect, which was revealed by a significant decrease in immobility time compared with the control group, with the group administered flurbiprofen at 10 mg/kg, and with the group given flurbiprofen at 20 mg/kg in the tail suspension test. Flurbiprofen at 40 mg/kg showed an antidepressant effect, which was revealed by a significant decrease in immobility time compared with the control group and with the group given flurbiprofen at 10 mg/kg. Flurbiprofen at 20 mg/kg had a minimal antidepressant effect in the swimming forced test, which was reflected by a non-significant decrease in immobility time compared with the control group. In conclusion, our results showed that relatively high therapeutic doses of flurbiprofen might have an antidepressant effect in a mouse model, and we recommended conducting other in vivo studies to clarify the variation in dose response.