Depression is associated with lowered mood, anxiety, anhedonia, cognitive impairments, and even suicidal tendencies in severe cases. Yet few studies have directed acupuncture's mechanism toward enhancing axonal repair correlated with synaptic plasticity and anti-inflammatory effects related to oxidative stress in the hippocampus. Male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into control group (CON), chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) group, CUMS + electroacupuncture group (EA), and CUMS + fluoxetine group (FLX) (n = 10/group). Rats were given a 28-day treatment at the Shangxing (GV23) and Fengfu (GV16) acupoints with electroacupuncture or fluoxetine (2.1 mg/kg). Rats exposed to CUMS induced depression-like behaviors and spatial learning-memory impairment, changed the ionized calcium binding adaptor molecule 1 (IBA-1), Vglut1, myelin basic protein (MBP), and postsynaptic density protein 95 (PSD95) level of hippocampal, increased the Nod-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3), atypical squamous cell (ASC), Caspase level and hippocampal reactive oxygen species (ROS), and prompted the activation of Epha4-mediated signaling and an inflammatory response. Conversely, electroacupuncture administration reduced these changes and prevented depression-like behaviors and cognitive impairment. Electroacupuncture also promoted hippocampal expression of Sirtuin1(SIRT1), Nuclear factor erythroid 2-like (Nrf2), Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1); reduced the expression of interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-18 (IL-18), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α); and prevented neural damage, particularly the synaptic myelin sheath, and neuroinflammation by regulating Eph receptor A4 (EphA4) in the hippocampal. These results indicate that electroacupuncture prevents depression-like behaviors with cognitive impairment and synaptic and neuronal damage, probably by reducing EphA4, which mediates ROS hyperfunction and the inflammatory response.

Although artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming more and more prevalent in education, yet its patterns, problems with current research, and potential applications are still largely unexplored. ChatGPT is AI based platform, developed by AI research and deployment company, known as OpenAI. Users may submit text instructions into ChatGPT, and it will quickly produce text answers using the information it has gleaned through using machine learning to interact with the internet. The objective of current study is to test ChatGPT by asking student centric medical questions in the field of pharmacology and determine its relevancy in self-studying the subject so that students can use to enhance their learning experience. The questions were asked in the different domain of drug’s pharmacokinetics, mechanism of action, clinical uses, adverse effect, contraindications and drug-drug interactions. The answer given by ChatGPT were relevant and accurate, however the reference or source of answers were not given. The tool can used as quick reference and self-studying instrument for traditional and complementary medicine students (T&CM) who face difficulty in studying pharmacology.

The treatment of depression with acupuncture has been documented. The mechanism behind acupuncture's curative and preventative effects is still unknown. The current study examined the effects of acupuncture on depression-like behaviors in a rat model of chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS), while also exploring its potential mechanisms. A total of six groups of rats were randomly assigned: control, CUMS, acupuncture, fluoxetine, acupoint catgut embedding and sham acupoint catgut embedding. Fluoxetine (2.1 mg/kg) and acupoint catgut embedding were used for comparative research to acupuncture. The modelling evaluation is measured by body weight and behavior tests. Western blotting and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction were used to detect the proteins and mRNA expression of Silent information regulator 1 (Sirt1)/ nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2)/ heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1)/ Glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) pathway in the hippocampus. The expression of oxidative stress (OS)-related proteins and inflammatory cytokines in the serum was detected with ELISA. Immunofluorescence showed microglia and astrocytes activity in the hippocampus. Acupuncture and fluoxetine could alleviate CUMS-induced depression-like behaviors. Acupuncture was also found to effectively reverse the levels of MDA, SOD, GSH, GSH-PX and T-AOC, IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α in the serum of CUMS-induced rats. Rats with CUMS showed decreased levels of Sirt1, Nrf2, HO-1 and GPX4 in the hippocampus, while acupuncture treatment could partly reverse the diminished effects. In addition, acupuncture treatment significantly reduced the activation of hippocampal microglia and astrocytes in CUMS-induced rats. The study's findings indicate that acupuncture has the potential to mitigate depression-like behaviors in rats induced with CUMS by mitigating OS and reducing neuroinflammation.

There is no existence of life without plants. Plants are the essential foundation of medicine. Some important drugs that are still in use today are derived from traditional medicinal herbs. The hunt for new medicines has engaged ethnobotany and ethnopharmacology—a new route as an important source of knowledge, which led toward different sources and classes of compounds. Nowadays, studies on structure-activity relationships, and their impact on the design of novel drugs have rendered them one of the utmost valuable and thus significant accomplishments of pharmacochemistry, an advance constituent in the group of pharmaceutical sciences. In this paper, we have discussed the historical importance of medicinal plants, geographical importance throughout the world, some important historical observations of medicinal plants, and leading drugs of plant origin which are still being used to treat various ailments, with or without any structural modifications.

Depression is recognized globally as one of the most intractable diseases, and its complexity and diversity make treatment extremely challenging. Acupuncture has demonstrated beneficial effects in various psychiatric disorders. However, the underlying mechanisms of acupuncture’s antidepressant action, particularly in depression, remain elusive. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effects of acupuncture on chronic unpredictability stress (CUMS)-induced depressive symptoms in rats and to further elucidate its underlying molecular mechanisms. All rats were exposed to CUMS of two stressors every day for 28 days, except for the control group. One hour before CUMS, rats were given a treatment with acupuncture, electroacupuncture, sham-acupuncture, or fluoxetine (2.1 mg/kg). Behavioral tests and biological detection methods were conducted in sequence to evaluate depression-like phenotype in rats. The findings of this study demonstrate that acupuncture therapy effectively ameliorated depression-like behavior induced by CUMS in rats. Additionally, acupuncture exerted a restorative effect on the alterations induced by CUMS in the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), cyclic AMP response element-binding protein (CREB), postsynaptic density95 (PSD95), gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), and acetylcholine (ACh). Additionally, our findings indicate that acupuncture also modulates the ERK and Caspase-3 apoptotic pathways in the hippocampus of CUMS rats. This study suggests that acupuncture may play a potential preventive role by regulating hippocampal neuroinflammatory response, levels of oxidative stress, apoptotic processes, and enhancing synaptic plasticity.