Study of behavioral patterns in rats under conditions of stress-induced depression with intragastric load of dandelion extract

The relevance of the problem of post-stress depression is explained by its high prevalence, significant socioeconomic consequences, and the low effectiveness of existing therapeutic approaches. The pathogenesis of depression, as a heterogeneous disorder, is due to multiple predisposing factors and diverse biological mechanisms; therefore, a unified concept of its origin has not yet been developed. This stimulates the intensification of research in the direction of finding new diagnostic markers and therapeutic strategies for the treatment of depression. The set of biologically active compounds of dandelion extract determines its potential effectiveness in the treatment of depressive states.

The aim of the study was to investigate behavior patterns in rats under conditions of stress-induced depression after an intragastric load of dandelion extract.

Materials and methods. The study was conducted on 90 six-month-old male Wistar rats. A "social" stress model was used to simulate the depressive state in animals. All animals were equally divided into 3 groups of 30 rats each, according to the randomization principle: Group 1 — intact animals, to which no effects were applied; Group 2 — control, in animals a depressive state was modeled, and they received intragastrically distilled water, in a volume of 2 ml daily for 20 days from the moment of depression modeling; Group 3 — males, which from the first day of depression modeling received intragastrically an aqueous extract of dandelion medicinal plant, produced by KorolevPharm LLC with a concentration of active substances of 3.5-4.0%, at a dose of 75 mg/100 g of animal weight, in a volume of 2 ml. Behavioral patterns were studied in animals on the 21st day of the experiment using the behavioral despair tests according to the Porsolt method, Open Field and Elevated Plus Maze. Digital data from all experiments were statistically processed using parametric and nonparametric analysis methods.

Results. It was found that depressed animals exhibited decreased active swimming time and increased passive swimming and immobilization time. However, aggressive and submissive rats treated with dandelion extract for depression demonstrated less pronounced depressive symptoms compared to untreated animals. Results from the Open Field and Elevated Plus Maze tests revealed that aggressive and submissive rats exhibited increased anxiety during stress-induced depression, manifested by decreased vertical and horizontal activity, increased grooming time, and increased fecal bolus production. Biologically active substances in dandelion extract are capable of inducing inhibitory processes in the nervous system and reducing psychoemotional stress in animals in the open field, elevated plus maze, and Porsolt tests. This is due to their ability to activate protective inhibition processes in the central nervous system, resulting in a reduction in psychoemotional stress in rats. Consequently, these compounds exert stress-protective and antidepressant effects.

Conclusions. Intragastric administration of dandelion extract to rats with aggressive and submissive behavior patterns in a state of social depression helps reduce the manifestations of depression.

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