Abstract

ANTI-ANXIETY- AND ANTIDEPRESSANT-LIKE EFFECTS OF THE COMBINATION OF 6-NITRO-2(1H)-QUINOXALINONE AND 2(1H)- QUINOXALINONE IN WISTAR RATS

Redouan NAKACHE*, Aboubaker ELHESSNI, Ali OUICHOU, Mohamed EL FAYDY, Inssaf BERKIKS, Youssef BAHBITI, Brahim LAKHRISSI, Bouchra BENAZZOUZ, Abdelhalem MESFIOUI

Abstract

To augment the effect of classical anti-anxiety and/or antidepressantdrugs by combination therapy, which refers to the addition of drugs toenhance their effects, reduce their dose with better efficacy and lowerside effects, has been a critical choice and an emerging treatmentstrategy. In this study, the anti-anxiety and antidepressant potentialeffect of intraperitoneal co-administration of 6-nitro-2(1H)-quinoxalinone (NQu) and 2(1H)-quinoxalinone (Qu) in the open fieldtest (OFT), elevated plus maze (EPM) and forced swimming test(FST), was evaluated. The combination of NQu (10mg/kg) and Qu (10mg/kg) exhibited anti-anxiety-like potential synergistic effect in theOFT, whereas, this combination caused no effect in the duration ofimmobility in the FST. While 20 mg/kg of NQu and Qu separatelyadministered was ineffective in exhibiting the anti-anxiety-like effect in the OFT and EPM.On the contrary, 20 mg/kg of Qu significantly decreased the duration of immobility in theFST. By contrast, Diazepam (Dz) (1 mg/kg) was not influenced by the co-administration ofNQu/Qu (10 mg/kg). None of the drugs used in the present study had any effects on thelocomotor activity test at the doses applied. The results show that co-administration of NQuand Qu exhibits a synergistic effect and that no potential interaction occurred by association of NQu/Qu and Dz. Taken together, these results show that reducing the dose of tested molecules does not remove their anxiolytic effect when combined suggesting the existence of a synergistic interaction between the two molecules.

Keywords: anxiety, depression, synergistic effect, diazepam, 6-nitro-2(1H)-quinoxalinone, 2(1H)-quinoxalinone, wistar rat, OFT, EPM, FST.