Abstract
The presence of rutin in Schinus molle elicited antidepressant-like effects by enhancing the availability of serotonin and noradrenaline in the synaptic cleft. Thus, the main objective of the present study was to explore the antidepressant potential of rutin and its probable underlying mechanism(s) in alcohol withdrawal-induced depression-like behavior in rats. Depressive behaviors were induced by subjecting the rats to ethanol-dependent withdrawal syndrome. The rats were administered varying concentrations of alcohol for 21 days, and withdrawal symptoms were investigated. The animals were administered vehicle, fluoxetine, or rutin for 7 days. Animals were observed for depressive-like state via helplessness, which was reflected as an increase in immobility time in the forced swim test and tail suspension test. Various biochemical alterations, including serum corticosterone levels; endogenous antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione (GSH); and lipid peroxidation, in terms of malondialdehyde (MDA) formation in the brain, were studied. The experimental findings demonstrated that rutin elicited a significant reduction in immobility time and prevented the decrease in SOD, CAT, and GSH levels in alcohol withdrawal-induced depressive-like behaviour. Furthermore, to substantiate these findings, our histopathological studies corroborated that rutin ameliorated brain alterations due to stress mediated by alcohol withdrawal. Thus, rutin attenuated depressive-like behaviour through amelioration of oxidative stress by restoration of SOD, GSH, and CAT levels and attenuation of corticosterone, MDA, and NO levels.