Introduction: Ketamine therapy is considered a safe and effective way to alleviate symptoms associated with psychiatric disorders, including depression and anxiety [1]. However, recreational ketamine use has become popular in recent years [2]. The abuse liability of ketamine use has caused concern. The present study examined whether Hericium erinaceus (HE) mycelium and its major component erinacine A could reduce the motivation for ketamine Methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were trained to respond to intravenous ketamine (0.5 mg/kg/infusion) self-administration or food pellets. The effects of oral administration of HE mycelium or erinacine A on the motivation for ketamine and food were assessed using breakpoint test under a progressive ratio (PR) paradigm. Results: HE mycelium, but not erinacine A, significantly reduced the breakpoint for ketamine. In addition, HE mycelium did not affect the breakpoint for food reinforcement, while erinacine A significantly reduced the breakpoint for food reinforcement. Conclusions: The results reveal that HE mycelium is capable of attenuating the reinforcing efficacy of ketamine, which is not attributable to erinacine A. These findings suggest that a HE mycelium supplementation might reduce the risk to abuse ketamine in patients under ketamine therapy.
Date:
2023-07
Relation:
British Journal of Pharmacology. 2023 Jul;180(Suppl. 1):1034.
