Fig. 2.

Effects of different echinacoside doses (20 mg/kg, 30 mg/kg or 40 mg/kg) and desipramine (20 mg/kg) intraperitoneally injected on the phosphorylation of mTOR, Akt, and ERK in the hippocampus of mice. Western blot analysis of phosphorylation of mTOR, Akt and ERK were conducted (A). The densitometry analyses of the blot (normalized to β-actin) verify the enhanced activity of pmTOR in group treated with echinacoside at 20 mg/kg and 30 mg/kg, not in groups treated with echinacoside at 40 mg/kg and desipramine (B). The increased pAkt in the mice hippocampus following treatment with echinacoside were showed in a dose-dependent manner (C). Only echinacoside at 30 mg/kg significantly increased pERK (D). Total levels of mTOR, Akt, and ERK were not different among the groups. (*p < 0.05 compared with saline-treated group by Mann-Whitney U test); n = 4 per group, values shown are mean ± SEM