Trans astaxanthin

Trans-astaxanthin, imipramine hydrochloride, p-chlorophenylalanine HCl (PCPA, an inhibitor of serotonin synthesis), apomorphine hydrochloride, kynuramine dihydrobromide, 4-hydroxyquinoline, clorgyline, deprenyl, 5-hydroxytryptamine, noradrenaline, dopamine, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) and 4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) were purchased from Sigma Chemical Co. (USA). Moclobemide hydrochloride and sodium carboxymethyl cellulose were provided by Beijing Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology (China). For oral administration (via gavage, i.g.), Trans-astaxanthin was dissolved in 0.5% sodium carboxymethyl cellulose and moclobemide was dissolved in redistilled water. For intraperitoneal injection, imipramine and fluoxetine were dissolved in redistilled water. In acute experiments, the behavioral and neurochemical tests were conducted 1 h after Trans-astaxanthin (20, 40, 80 mg/kg, i.g.) treatment [37 (link)]. The effects of positive antidepressants such as moclobemide (20 mg/kg, i.g.), imipramine (10 mg/kg, i.p.) and fluoxetine (10 mg/kg, i.p.) were tested 1 h (meclobemide) and 30 min (imipramine and fluoxetine) respectively, after administration of the drugs as previously described [20 (link), 38 ].