Effects of Hypericum extract on the XXXX release: a loose patch clamp approach.

@entity308 @entity19 @entity4360 @entity3451 @entity934
The St. John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum) extract (Hp) represents one of the most useful natural therapeutic agents in the treatment of moderate and mild @entity308 . The antidepressant effects of Hp are different, by a molecular mechanism point of view, when compared to those of other antidepressant drugs and, we think, a further pharmacological characterization is needed. It is suggested that the neurochemical effects of Hp could be bind either to its activity on the uptake of some mediators in the central nervous system or to the inhibition of some enzymatic activity at the receptor level. The present study carried out with the loose patch clamp (LPC) in the @entity19 neuromuscular junction, indicates a potentiation of the @entity934 ( @entity3451 ) action at the @entity19 neuromuscular junction. The spontaneous release of @entity3451 was unaffected by Hp indicating that neither presynaptic nor postsynaptic function are modified by Hp. Indeed, both the frequency and the amplitude of the miniature end-plate currents (mepcs) were unmodified by Hp. Furthermore, the mepcs decay time (tau), i.e. the apparent cholinergic channel life time, was significantly increased after Hp treatment. The other parameter affected was the amplitude of the evoked end-plate currents (epcs) which was constantly and in a dose dependent manner increased by Hp. These findings suggest a possible action of Hp on the @entity4360 ( @entity4360 ) in terms of a reduction of the degradation rate of @entity3451 .
