Abstract
The present study describes the chemical synthesis and pharmacological evaluation
of a series of 9-alkoxy-7H-furo[3,2-g]-chromen-7-ones. The pharmacological results of these compounds show that nine of
them, given orally, reduced the immobility time in the forced swimming test. The results
of the open-field test further confirmed that these compounds possessed an antidepressant-like
effect. In the 5-hydroxytryptophan induced head-twitch test, 9-(3-chlorobenzyloxy)-7H-furo[3,2-g]chromen-7-one (3m, 40 mg/kg p. o.) significantly increased the cumulative number
of head twitches. This finding suggested that the antidepressant-like profile seems
to involve the serotonergic system as underlying mechanism.
Key words
Antidepressant - Forced swimming test - Furocoumarin - 5-Hydroxytryptophan - Open-field
test - Psoralen, analogues
