Rosmarinic acid and caffeic acid reduce the defensive freezing behavior of mice exposed to conditioned fear stress

• Published in: Psychopharmacologia Vol. 164; no. 2; pp. 233 - 235
• Main Authors: TAKEDA, Hiroshi, TSUJI, Minoru, MIYAMOTO, Junichi, MATSUMIYA, Teruhiko
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin Springer 01.11.2002; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Analysis of Variance; Animals; Animals, Outbred Strains; Antioxidants - pharmacology; Behavior, Animal - drug effects; Biological and medical sciences; Caffeic Acids - pharmacology; Cinnamates - pharmacology; Conditioning, Psychological - drug effects; Depsides; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Fear - drug effects; General pharmacology; Male; Medical sciences; Mice; Miscellaneous; Motor Activity - drug effects; Neuropharmacology; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Plant Extracts - chemistry; Psychoanaleptics: cns stimulant, antidepressant agent, nootropic agent, mood stabilizer..., (alzheimer disease); Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopharmacology; Rosmarinic Acid; Metabolite; Pharmacognosy; Rodentia; Biological activity; Caffeic acid; Stress; Learning; Fear; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Acquisition process; Mouse; Animal; Plant origin; Rosmarinic acid; Mice; Conditioning; Conditioned fear stress; Motricity
• ISSN: 0033-3158; 1432-2072
• DOI: 10.1007/s00213-002-1253-5

We previously showed that rosmarinic acid from the leaves of Perilla frutescens Britton var. acuta Kudo (Perillae Herba) and its major metabolite caffeic acid have antidepressive-like activity in the forced swimming test. The present study was designed to examine whether rosmarinic acid and caffeic acid might also be effective in other types of stress model. The conditioned fear stress paradigm was used as a stress model for assessing the effects of rosmarinic acid and caffeic acid. Rosmarinic acid (0.25-4 mg/kg, IP) induced a dose-dependent, U-shaped reduction in the duration of the defensive freezing behavior of mice exposed to conditioned fear stress. Caffeic acid (1-8 mg/kg, IP) also dose-dependently reduced this freezing behavior. However, neither substance, at doses that produced a significant reduction in the freezing behavior, affected spontaneous motor activity. These results confirm that rosmarinic acid and caffeic acid may inhibit the emotional abnormality produced by stress.