ABSTRACT:
Background/Objectives: This study investigated the antidepressive effects of Gami-Shinkiwhan (GS) in immobilization stressed aging mice. Methods/Statistical analysis: 24-month-old ICR mice were used in this study. The groups were consistedof a control group, depressed group (DS group), and Gami-Shinkiwhan-treated group (GS group). DS and GS groups were exposed to immobilization stress for 10 weeks; GS was treated at a dose of 0.56 g/kg/day. Depression was assessed using the tail suspension test (TST) and immunohistochemical staining of hippocampal tissue. Findings: The mice from the GS group exhibited decreased immobility time in the TST, compared to the immobility time of the mice from the DS group. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that the levels of serotonin and SHH significantly increased, while the levels of caspase-3 and HDAC3 significantly decreased in the GS group, compared to the levels in the DS group. Improvements/Applications: Taken together, results indicate that GS alleviates depression in aging mice by increasing the levels of serotonin and SHH, and decreasing the levels of caspase-3 and HDAC3 in the hippocampus.