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. 2013 Jan;3(1):53-61.
doi: 10.4103/2225-4110.106548.

The Antidepressant-like Effect of Ethanol Extract of Daylily Flowers ( Jīn Zhēn Huā) in Rats

Shih-Hang Lin  1 , Hui-Chi Chang  1 , Pei-Ju Chen  2 , Ching-Liang Hsieh  3 , Kuan-Pin Su  4 , Lee-Yan Sheen  5
Affiliations

The Antidepressant-like Effect of Ethanol Extract of Daylily Flowers ( Jīn Zhēn Huā) in Rats

Shih-Hang Lin et al. J Tradit Complement Med. 2013 Jan.

Abstract

According to the prediction of the 2008 World Health Organization (WHO) report, depression will be the highest burden disease by the year 2030. Daylily flower ( Jīn Zhēn Huā ; the flower of Hemerocallis fulva) is traditionally used for soothing in Chinese dietary therapy. The major flavonoid of daylily flowers, rutin, is also characterized to be an antidepressant. In this study, we investigated the antidepressant effects of ethanol extract of daylily flowers (DFEtoH) and rutin by forced swimming test (FST) and neurotransmitter metabolism of brain regions (frontal cortex, hippocampus, striatum, and amygdala). Results show that either short- or long-term tests, the extract and rutin significantly reduce the immobility time and increased swimming time of FST, which are compared with the vehicle (P < 0.05). The extract and rutin also increase the serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine concentration of these brain regions (P < 0.05). In long-term tests, the daylily flowers extract markedly increased serotonin concentration and reduced serotonin turnover rate in these brain regions but not frontal cortex. In conclusion, present data illustrated that DFEtoH does have antidepressant-like effects possibly via the regulation of serotonergic system. Moreover, rutin might be playing a very important role in the antidepressant-like effects of DFEtoH.

Keywords: Antidepressant; Daylily; Forced swimming test; Hemerocallis fulva; Serotonergic system.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The chromatogram of rutin standard and DFEtoH. (A) Rutin (B) large-scale extraction (C) small-scale extraction
Figure 2
Figure 2
The rat behaviors under forced swimming test. (A) Short-term experiment (B) long-term experiment. C: negative control; F: fluoxetine; D: low dosage of ethanol extract of daylily flowers; MD: medium dosage of DFEtoH; HD: high dosage of DFEtoH; R: rutin. abcd data not sharing the same letter are significantly different from one another in each group (P < 0.05) by ANOVA and Duncan's multiple range test
Figure 3
Figure 3
The metabolic rate of monoamines in acute experiment. (A) Serotonin in amygdala (B) dopamine in striatum. NC: normal control, C: negative control; F: fluoxetine; D: low dosage of DFEtoH; MD: medium dosage of DFEtoH; HD: high dosage of DFEtoH. abc data not sharing the same letter are significantly different from one another in each group (P < 0.05) by ANOVA and Duncan's multiple range test
Figure 4
Figure 4
The metabolic rate of serotonin in chronic experiment in each brain regions. (A) Amygdala (B) hippocampus (C) striatum (D) frontal cortex. C: negative control; F: fluoxetine; D: low dosage of DFEtoH; MD: medium dosage of DFEtoH; HD: high dosage of DFEtoH; R: rutin. abcd data not sharing the same letter are significantly different from one another in each group (P < 0.05) by ANOVA and Duncan's multiple range test
Figure 5
Figure 5
The metabolic rate of dopamine in chronic experiment in striatum. C: Negative control; F: fluoxetine; D: low dosage of DFEtoH; MD: medium dosage of DFEtoH; HD: high dosage of DFEtoH; R: rutin. abcde data not sharing the same letter are significantly different from one another in each group (P < 0.05) by ANOVA and Duncan's multiple range test.
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