Behavioral effects of sinomenine in murine models of anxiety

• Published in: Life sciences (1973) Vol. 78; no. 3; pp. 232 - 238
• Main Authors: Chen, Si Wei, Mi, Xiao Juan, Wang, Rui, Wang, Wen Juan, Kong, Wei Xi, Zhang, Yi Jing, Li, Yu Lei
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier Inc 05.12.2005
• Subjects: Animals; Anti-Anxiety Agents - therapeutic use; Anxiety; Anxiety - drug therapy; Anxiety - physiopathology; Behavior, Animal - drug effects; Darkness; Diazepam; Disease Models, Animal; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Elevated plus-maze test; Light; Light/dark transition test; Male; Maze Learning - drug effects; Mice; Morphinans - therapeutic use; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Sinomenine; Social Behavior; Social interaction test; Species Specificity; Elevated plus-maze test; Social interaction test; Sinomenine; Rats; Anxiety; Mice; Light/dark transition test; Diazepam
• ISSN: 0024-3205; 1879-0631
• DOI: 10.1016/j.lfs.2005.04.056

The present study was designed to investigate the putative anxiolytic-like effect of sinomenine in three experimental models of anxiety in male rats and mice. Use of the elevated plus-maze test revealed that sinomenine (20 and 40 mg/kg, p.o.) increased the percentage of open arm entries and diazepam (2 mg/kg, p.o.) increased the percentage of open arm entries, the percentage of time spent on open arms and total arm entries in mice. In the light/dark transition test, sinomenine (20 and 40 mg/kg, p.o.) increased time spent in the light area and diazepam (2 mg/kg, p.o.) increased time spent in the light area and the overall movements in mice. In the social interaction test, the sinomenine-treated animals significantly increased social interaction time in low light unfamiliar (7 mg/kg, p.o.) and high light unfamiliar conditions (7 and 14 mg/kg, p.o.) as well as diazepam (3 mg/kg, p.o.). Sinomenine (28 mg/kg, p.o.) can also decrease squares entered in rats in social interaction test under low light unfamiliar condition. In the open-field test, sinomenine (160 mg/kg) decreased squares entered in mice. Thus, these findings indicated that sinomenine exhibited anxiolytic-like effect.