PMCCPMCCPMCC

Search tips
Search criteria 

Advanced


 
Formats
Article sections
Authors
Related links
Logo of agpsychBioMed Centralbiomed central web sitesearchsubmit a manuscriptregisterthis articleAnnals of General Psychiatry
 
Ann Gen Psychiatry. 2007; 6: 21.
Published online 2007 August 10. doi:  10.1186/1744-859X-6-21
PMCID: PMC1971263
Copyright © 2007 Ho et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
Psychoimmunological effects of dioscorea in ovariectomized rats: role of anxiety level
Ying-Jui Ho,corresponding author1 Ching-Fu Wang,1 Wen-Yu Hsu,1 Ting Tseng,1 Cheng-Chin Hsu,2 Mei-Ding Kao,3 and Yuan-Feen Tsai4
1School of Psychology, Chung Shan Medical University, No. 110, Sec. 1, Chien-Kuo N. Rd., Tai-Chung City 402, ROC, Taiwan
2School of Nutrition, Chung Shan Medical University, No. 110, Sec. 1, Chien-Kuo N. Rd., Tai-Chung City 402, ROC, Taiwan
3Department of Food and Nutrition, Providence University, No. 200 Chung-Chi Rd., Tai-Chung City 43301, ROC, Taiwan
4Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Sec. 1, Jen-Ai Rd., Taipei City 100, ROC, Taiwan
corresponding authorCorresponding author.
Ying-Jui Ho: yjho/at/csmu.edu.tw; Ching-Fu Wang: wcf/at/csmu.edu.tw; Wen-Yu Hsu: wyhsu/at/csmu.edu.tw; Ting Tseng: blackunicorn1984/at/yahoo.com.tw; Cheng-Chin Hsu: king/at/csmu.edu.tw; Mei-Ding Kao: mdkao/at/pu.edu.tw; Yuan-Feen Tsai: yftsai/at/ntu.edu.tw
Received January 11, 2007; Accepted August 10, 2007.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Small right arrow pointing to: This article has been cited by other articles in PMC.
Abstract
Background
Anxiety levels in rats are correlated with interleukin-2 (IL-2) levels in the brain. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of dioscorea (wild yam), a Chinese medicine, on emotional behavior and IL-2 levels in the brain of ovariectomized (OVX) rats.
Methods
One month after ovariectomy, female Wistar rats were screened in the elevated plus-maze (EPM) test to measure anxiety levels and divided into low anxiety (LA) and high anxiety (HA) groups, which were then given dioscorea (250, 750, or 1500 mg/kg/day) by oral gavage for 27 days and were tested in the EPM on day 23 of administration and in the forced swim test (FST) on days 24 and 25, then 3 days later, the brain was removed and IL-2 levels measured.
Results
Compared to sham-operated rats, anxiety behavior in the EPM was increased in half of the OVX rats. After chronic dioscorea treatment, a decrease in anxiety and IL-2 levels was observed in the HA OVX rats. Despair behavior in the FST was inhibited by the highest dosage of dioscorea.
Conclusion
These results show that OVX-induced anxiety and changes in neuroimmunological function in the cortex are reversed by dioscorea treatment. Furthermore, individual differences need to be taken into account when psychoneuroimmunological issues are measured and the EPM is a useful tool for determining anxiety levels when examining anxiety-related issues.
Articles from Annals of General Psychiatry are provided here courtesy of
BioMed Central