Objective:Ziziphora clinopodioides has been valued in Iranian traditional medicine for various medicinal applications. This novel study was conducted to assess the antidepressant-like effect of the essential oil of Ziziphora clinopodioides (EOZC) and to identify the possible mechanisms contributing to this action through forced swimming test (FST).
Methods:The chemical profile of EOZC obtained by GC-MS. The mice received EOZC (10, 20, and 40 mg/kg) 1 h before the FST intraperitoneally. Moreover, naloxone (non-selective antagonist for opioid receptor subtypes, 1 mg/kg), prazosin (α1-adrenergic receptor antagonist, 1 mg/kg), yohimbine (α2-adrenergic receptor antagonist, 1 mg/kg), propranolol (β-adrenergic receptor antagonist, 2 mg/kg), WAY100635 (selective 5-HT1A receptor antagonist, 0.1 mg/kg), ondansetron (5-HT3 receptor antagonist, 1 mg/kg), haloperidol (non-selective dopamine receptor blocker, 0.2 mg/kg), SCH23390 (selective dopamine D1 receptor blocker, 0.05 mg/kg), sulpiride (selective dopamine D2 receptor blocker, 50 mg/kg) and flumazenil (GABAA/BDZ receptor antagonist, 10 mg/kg) were used to ascertain the neural pathways implicated in the antidepressant-like response of EOZC.
Results:The GC-MS evaluation demonstrated that predominant components of EOZC comprised carvacrol (65.22 %), thymol (19.51 %), p-cymene (4.86 %), γ-terpinene (4.63 %) and E-Caryophyllene (1.07 %). EOZC exhibited a significant dose-dependent effect that resulted in a marked decrease in the duration of immobility time (P < 0.05). The antidepressant-like action of EOZC was reversed by prazosin, yohimbine, WAY100635, ondansetron, haloperidol, SCH23390 and sulpiride. However, this effect remained unaffected by naloxone, propranolol and flumazenil.
Conclusion:These findings indicate that EOZC elicits antidepressant-like response, which relies on its interaction with noradrenergic, serotonergic and dopaminergic pathways.