Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of Thessaly, Larissa, Greece.
Neurosci Lett. 2012 Oct 18;528(1):27-30. doi: 10.1016/j.neulet.2012.08.081. Epub 2012 Sep 7.
Crocins are among the active components of the plant Crocus Sativus L. C. Sativus L. and its constituents were effective in different models of psychiatric disorders including anxiety and depression. Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a common psychiatric disorder defined by the presence of obsessive thoughts and repetitive compulsive actions. The non selective serotonin (5-HT) receptor agonist mCPP is known to induce OCD-like behavior (excessive self-grooming) in rodents and exacerbate symptoms in patients with OCD. The present study investigated whether or not crocins were able to counteract excessive self-grooming induced by mCPP (0.6 mg/kg, i.p.) in rats. Crocins (30 and 50mg/kg, i.p.) attenuated mCPP-induced excessive self-grooming. The present results also indicate that these effects of crocins on an animal model of OCD cannot be attributed to changes in locomotor activity. Our findings suggest that the active constituents of C. Sativus L. crocins might play a role in compulsive behavior and support a functional interaction between crocins and the serotonergic system.
西红花苷是植物番红花 Crocus sativus L. 及其成分中的活性成分之一，在包括焦虑和抑郁在内的不同精神障碍模型中都具有疗效。强迫症（OCD）是一种常见的精神障碍，其特征是存在强迫性思维和重复强迫性行为。非选择性 5-羟色胺（5-HT）受体激动剂 mCPP 已知可在啮齿动物中诱导类似 OCD 的行为（过度自我修饰），并加重 OCD 患者的症状。本研究旨在探讨西红花苷是否能够对抗 mCPP（0.6mg/kg，ip）诱导的大鼠过度自我修饰。西红花苷（30 和 50mg/kg，ip）可减轻 mCPP 诱导的过度自我修饰。本研究结果还表明，西红花苷对 OCD 动物模型的这些作用不能归因于运动活性的变化。我们的研究结果表明，C. sativus L. 西红花苷的活性成分可能在强迫行为中发挥作用，并支持西红花苷与 5-羟色胺能系统之间的功能相互作用。
