Anti-depressant effect of α-pinene on gonadectomized-related behavior in male rats

This study aimed to determine anti-depressant effect of α-pinene on gonadectomized-related behavior in male rats.
Thirty adult male Wistar rats were assigned to 5 experimental groups. In the control group, surgeries were identical but testes were not clamped, ligated or excised. In the sham control, surgeries were identical with no treatment. In the imipramine group, rats were administered with imipramine (15 mg/kg) followed by castration for 2 weeks. In groups 4 and 5, following castration, rats were i.p. injected with 𝛼-pinene (0.5 and 1 mg/kg) for 2 weeks, respectively. Following recovery, forced swimming test (FST), tail suspension test (TST), and open field test (OFT) were performed and serum levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and catalase (CAT) activity were determined.
According to the data, immobility time significantly increased following castration compared to control group (p<0.05). Administration of the imipramine significantly decreased immobility time compared to control group (p<0.05). Treatment with 𝛼-pinene (0.5 and 1 mg/kg) significantly decreased immobility time in comparison with sham control group (p<0.05). Number of crossings in the OFT significantly diminished following castration and treatment with 𝛼-pinene (0.5 and 1 mg/kg) increased number of crossings in the OFT compared to sham control group (P<0.05). Serum MDA significantly increased while SOD, GPX and CAT decreased following castration compared to the control group (p<0.05). Administration of the 𝛼-pinene (0.5 and 1 mg/kg) significantly improved serum MDA, SOD, GPX and CAT production compared to the sham rat (p<0.05).
These results suggested that 𝛼-pinene has anti-depressant and antioxidant effects in gonadectomized-related behavior in male rats