Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41181594›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in pharmacology2025

Artemisinin exerts antidepressant-like effects via activation of AKT and ERK signaling pathways.

Ruohong Lin, Zhiwei Zhou, Yizhou Jiang, Song Liu, Jinfeng Xie, Haitao Wang, Henning Ulrich, Wenhua Zheng

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in pharmacology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Ruohong LinPharmaceutical Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Taipa, Macao SAR, China.
Zhiwei ZhouPharmaceutical Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Taipa, Macao SAR, China.
Yizhou JiangPharmaceutical Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Taipa, Macao SAR, China.
Song LiuPharmaceutical Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Taipa, Macao SAR, China.
Jinfeng XieNMPA Key Laboratory for Research and Evaluation of Drug Metabolism and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New Drug Screening, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Haitao WangNMPA Key Laboratory for Research and Evaluation of Drug Metabolism and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New Drug Screening, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Henning UlrichDepartamento de Bioquimica, Instituto de Quimica Universidade de Sao Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
Wenhua ZhengPharmaceutical Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Taipa, Macao SAR, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Aims: Depression is a leading cause of disability worldwide, with current treatments often limited by efficacy and side effects. Artemisinin (ART), a natural compound with known anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties, has not been extensively studied for its potential antidepressant effects. This study aimed to elucidate the neuroprotective mechanisms of artemisinin against corticosterone (CORT)-induced toxicity in PC12 cells model, and to assess its antidepressant-like behavioral effects in a chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) mouse model. Methods: Results: Artemisinin attenuated CORT-induced cytotoxicity, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and apoptosis in PC12 cells and hippocampal neurons. These effects were mediated through the activation of AKT and ERK pathways. In CUMS mice, artemisinin improved depression-like behaviors, upregulated the AKT/GSK/NRF2/HO1 and BDNF/TrkB/ERK/CREB pathways, modulated astrocyte activity, and promoted neurogenesis in the hippocampus. Conclusion: Artemisinin exerts significant neuroprotective and antidepressant-like effects through multiple molecular and cellular mechanisms, highlighting its potential as a novel therapeutic agent for depression.

Indexed as

Akt/Erk signalingartemisininchronic unpredictable mild stresscorticosteronedepressionoxidative stress

Identifiers

PMID41181594
PMCPMC12575670

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.