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N-Palmitoylethanolamide Exerts Antidepressant-Like Effects in Rats: Involvement of PPAR α Pathway in the Hippocampus

Li M, Wang D, Bi W, Jiang ZE, Piao R, Yu H. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 2019 Apr;369(1):163-172.

Laboratory studyOther animals

Design
Laboratory study
Subjects
Rats subjected to 35 days of chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS)
Dose used in the study
PEA 2.5, 5.0 or 10 mg/kg oral, compared with fluoxetine 10 mg/kg oral, and PEA combined with the PPAR-alpha antagonist MK886
Duration
35 days
What was measured
Weight gain, sucrose preference, open-field locomotor activity, hippocampal PPAR-alpha mRNA/protein, serum ACTH and corticosterone, oxidative stress markers, and neurotrophic factors

What the authors reported

PEA normalised weight gain, sucrose preference, locomotor activity and hippocampal PPAR-alpha levels, and lowered serum ACTH and corticosterone in stressed rats. It reversed abnormal oxidative stress markers and raised neurotrophic factor levels, effects that MK886 fully or partly blocked.

Limits of this study

A rat model of chronic stress; it cannot show effect in people. Funding and conflicts not stated in the abstract.

Source

PubMed 30635472 · doi:10.1124/jpet.118.254524

Entry checked against the abstract on PubMed on 2026-09-22. The dose shown is the dose the researchers used. It is not a recommendation. How to read this page.