Paola Maccioni, Laura Regonini Somenzi, Mauro A M Carai, Federico Corelli, Gian Luigi Gessa, Giancarlo Colombo
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Rationale and objectives: Glycyrrhiza glabra L. (Fabaceae; licorice) is a widely used medicinal herb known to exert protective effects against multiple neurological diseases. The flavonoid, isoliquiritigenin (ISL), is a main constituent of roots of Glycyrrhiza glabra. ISL has been reported to behave as a GABAB receptor agonist and exert multiple pharmacological effects. Given the role of the GABAB receptor in the neurobiological and pharmacological bases of alcohol use disorder, the present study investigated the effect of ISL on a series of alcohol-related behaviors in selectively bred, female Sardinian alcohol-preferring rats.
Methods and results: The collected results indicated that acute treatment with ISL (5-20 mg/kg, i.p.; 50-200 mg/kg, i.g.) decreased operant oral alcohol self-administration under both fixed and progressive ratio schedules of reinforcement and suppressed cue-induced reinstatement of alcohol seeking. ISL effect on alcohol self-administration was partially blocked by pretreatment with the GABAB receptor antagonist, SCH50911, and potentiated by co-administration of the positive allosteric modulator of the GABAB receptor, GS39783. Acute treatment with doses of ISL as high as 80 mg/kg (i.p.) did not alter spontaneous locomotor activity, suggestive of the specificity of ISL effects on alcohol-related behaviors.
Conclusions: These results confirm the ability of ISL to behave in vivo as a GABAB receptor agonist; they also indicate that ISL reproduced the suppressing effects of the prototypic GABAB receptor agonist, baclofen, on multiple alcohol-related behaviors in rodents.
期刊介绍：
Official Journal of the European Behavioural Pharmacology Society (EBPS)
Psychopharmacology is an international journal that covers the broad topic of elucidating mechanisms by which drugs affect behavior. The scope of the journal encompasses the following fields:
Human Psychopharmacology: Experimental
This section includes manuscripts describing the effects of drugs on mood, behavior, cognition and physiology in humans. The journal encourages submissions that involve brain imaging, genetics, neuroendocrinology, and developmental topics. Usually manuscripts in this section describe studies conducted under controlled conditions, but occasionally descriptive or observational studies are also considered.
Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Translational
This section comprises studies addressing the broad intersection of drugs and psychiatric illness. This includes not only clinical trials and studies of drug usage and metabolism, drug surveillance, and pharmacoepidemiology, but also work utilizing the entire range of clinically relevant methodologies, including neuroimaging, pharmacogenetics, cognitive science, biomarkers, and others. Work directed toward the translation of preclinical to clinical knowledge is especially encouraged. The key feature of submissions to this section is that they involve a focus on clinical aspects.
Preclinical psychopharmacology: Behavioral and Neural
This section considers reports on the effects of compounds with defined chemical structures on any aspect of behavior, in particular when correlated with neurochemical effects, in species other than humans. Manuscripts containing neuroscientific techniques in combination with behavior are welcome. We encourage reports of studies that provide insight into the mechanisms of drug action, at the behavioral and molecular levels.
Preclinical Psychopharmacology: Translational
This section considers manuscripts that enhance the confidence in a central mechanism that could be of therapeutic value for psychiatric or neurological patients, using disease-relevant preclinical models and tests, or that report on preclinical manipulations and challenges that have the potential to be translated to the clinic. Studies aiming at the refinement of preclinical models based upon clinical findings (back-translation) will also be considered. The journal particularly encourages submissions that integrate measures of target tissue exposure, activity on the molecular target and/or modulation of the targeted biochemical pathways.
Preclinical Psychopharmacology: Molecular, Genetic and Epigenetic
This section focuses on the molecular and cellular actions of neuropharmacological agents / drugs, and the identification / validation of drug targets affecting the CNS in health and disease. We particularly encourage studies that provide insight into the mechanisms of drug action at the molecular level. Manuscripts containing evidence for genetic or epigenetic effects on neurochemistry or behavior are welcome.
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