Marble burying test in mice-validation of test method in the laboratory of Department of Clinical Pharmacy

Marble burying test (MBT) is an animal model of anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder, used as a screening test for new compounds in modern drug development. The aim of this study was to introduce that method to experimental workshop of the Clinical Pharmacy Department. MBT was carried out according to the procedure of Broekkamp et al. (1986). The first stage of the work was to determine the relevant parameters such as time of observation, age and body weight of mice. It was assumed that a 30-minute observation period and higher body weight of mice, i.e. 26–30 g are favorable parameters for the assessment of anxiolytic-like activity in MBT. The next step was to investigate properties of six reference compounds from different pharmacological groups: benzodiazepines (BZD), antidepressants (SSRI, TCA), typical and atypical antipsychotics. The selection was based on the literature data indicating anxiolytic-like activity of those drugs in MBT. The results show that diazepam (BZD) and escitalopram (SSRI) were active at both doses of 2.5 and 5.0 mg/kg; imipramine (TCA) was active at a dose of 30 mg/kg; olanzapine and aripiprazole (atypical antipsychotics)displayed anxiolytic-like activity at both doses of 2.5 and 5.0 mg/kg; chlorpromazine (typical antipsychotic) was active at doses of 1.25 and 2.5 mg/kg. To verify the impact of locomotor activity on animals’ behavior in MBT, the effect of active doses on spontaneous locomotor activity was also examined. Olanzapine, aripiprazole and chlorpromazine, given at active doses decreased locomotor activity of mice whereas other drugs had no effect on that parameter.