Normopharm researchers run two animal experiments to identify the effects of lithium salts on rats’ behavior. Scientists measured how well lithium ascorbate and lithium orotate can alleviate stress, anxiety, and depression. 

Open Field Test

Rats were put into a box with nooks to explore. A rat that feels stressed or uncertain moves along the wall, avoids crossing the center of the area, and explores the nooks, grooms, and defecates frequently. A rat that feels alright shows less of that behavior and also stands up on its hind legs more.

Measures of how many times rats expressed one of these behaviors were used as indirect signs of locomotor activity, curiosity, emotional tension, and anxiety-like behavior.

Lithium ascorbate performed slightly better

The study also tracked body weight before and after the treatment administration period. Intact animals gained 1-2% of weight during the experiment, while the treatment group showed slightly different results. Lithium orotate showed 16.4% weight gain, and lithium ascorbate showed 3.2% weight gain.

Lithium orotate was associated with substantially greater weight gain than lithium ascorbate, at 16.4% versus 3.2%.

Swimming Test

Rats were forced to swim while researchers measured three types of behavior:

• Passive swimming: movements needed to remain afloat without active escape attempts

• Immobility: absence of active movement

A reduction in immobility was interpreted as an antidepressant-like effect. The authors interpreted an increase in passive swimming as an anxiety-related effect. 

Lithium ascorbate produced the strongest anti-anxiety effect and antidepressant effect in relation to the dose efficiency

Conclusion

In animal experiments, lithium ascorbate was more effective against anxiety, depression, and stress than lithium orotate. Additionally, lithium ascorbate didn’t cause a significant weight gain, unlike lithium orotate.

Author

Science Writer Vlada Sukhanovskaya

Scientific Sources

• Comparative Analysis of the Stress-Protective Effects of Lithium Salts in the Open Field Test, Deltsov & Pozyabin 

• Study of the Antidepressant and Anxiolytic Effects of Various Lithium Salts, Konstantin Ostrenko, Vyacheslav Rastashansky

Read Next

• How Lithium Salts Help Rats Cope With Stress

• Lithium Salts: Antidepressant and Antianxiety Effects

FAQ

1. What did the researchers compare?

The researchers compared lithium ascorbate and lithium orotate in two animal experiments. They examined how the compounds affected behaviors interpreted as indirect indicators of stress, anxiety, and depression in rats.

2. What is the open field test?

The open field test places a rat in an unfamiliar enclosure where researchers record movement, exploration, grooming, defecation, and rearing on the hind legs. These behaviors are used as indirect measures of locomotor activity, curiosity, emotional tension, and anxiety-like behavior.

3. Which lithium salt performed better in the open field test?

According to the article, lithium ascorbate performed slightly better than lithium orotate in the behavioral measures assessed. The findings suggest that lithium ascorbate may have produced a stronger stress-protective or anxiety-reducing effect under the experimental conditions.

4. How did lithium ascorbate and lithium orotate affect body weight?

During the experiment, rats receiving lithium orotate gained 16.4% of their body weight, while rats receiving lithium ascorbate gained 3.2%. Intact animals gained approximately 1–2%. These results associate lithium orotate with substantially greater weight gain in this animal model.

5. What did the swimming test measure?

The swimming test measured passive swimming and immobility. Passive swimming refers to movements required to remain afloat without active attempts to escape, while immobility refers to the absence of active movement. Reduced immobility was interpreted as an antidepressant-like effect.

6. Which compound showed stronger antidepressant-like and anti-anxiety effects?

The article reports that lithium ascorbate produced the strongest antidepressant-like and anti-anxiety effects relative to the dose administered. This suggests greater dose efficiency than lithium orotate in the experimental model.

Page Summary

In two preclinical rat studies, lithium ascorbate showed stronger stress-protective, anti-anxiety, and antidepressant-like effects than lithium orotate in open field and forced swimming tests. It was also associated with much less weight gain: 3.2% compared with 16.4% for lithium orotate. These findings suggest that lithium ascorbate may be more dose-efficient in these animal models, but they do not prove that it is more effective or safer in humans.