Pharmacological Evaluation Of Tectorigenin In Lps Induced Depression

Abstract

Depression is a prevalent neuropsychiatric disorder in which neuroinflammation plays an important role in disease progression. The present study investigated the potential antidepressant-like and anti-neuroinflammatory effects of tectorigenin in an LPS-induced mice model of depression. Molecular docking was initially performed to evaluate the interaction of tectorigenin with dopamine D1 and D2 receptors. Adult mice were randomly divided into saline control, LPS disease, fluoxetine-treated and tectorigenin treated groups. Tectorigenin was administered at 10 mg/kg for 14 consecutive days, followed by LPS administration (0.83 mg/kg, i.p.) to induce depression-like behavior. Behavioral changes were assessed using the tail suspension and light dark box tests, while brain levels of NLRP3 and NF-κB were quantified using ELISA. Molecular docking demonstrated favorable binding energies of −7.6 and −6.8 kcal/mol for D1 and D2 receptors respectively. LPS administration produced marked behavioral abnormalities and increased NLRP3 and NF-κB levels. Tectorigenin treatment improved depression-like behavioral changes and significantly reduced NLRP3 and NF-κB levels compared with the disease group. These findings suggest that tectorigenin may exert antidepressant-like effects through modulation of dopaminergic signaling and suppression of neuroinflammatory pathways. Further mechanistic studies are warranted to validate its therapeutic potential in inflammation associated depression.