目的 研究芍药苷的抗抑郁作用，并对其作用机制进地初步探讨。方法 采用小鼠强迫游泳、小鼠悬尾实验和体外培养 PC12 细胞的方法，观察芍药苷对小鼠游泳不动时间、悬尾不动时间的影响以及对皮质酮损伤 PC12 细胞存活率的影响。结果 芍药苷连给药一周后，能明显缩短小鼠在行为学实验中的不动状态时间，并能拮抗皮质酮诱导的神经毒作用，提高 PC12 细胞的存活率。结论 药苷具有明显的抗抑郁作用，其机制可能与细胞的保护作用有关。

Objiective To investigate the antidepressant-like effects and mechanisms of paeoniflorin. Methods The antidepressant effects were evaluated by tail suspension test (TST) and forced swimming tests (FST) in mice. PC12 cells neurotoxicity injury was induced by corticosterone and the cell vialbility were measured by MTT assay. Results The research results indicated that one week of chronic administration paeoniflorin (100,200 mg/kg) could significantly reduce the duration of immobility in both FST and TST. Paeoniflorin at increasing doses （2—10 μmol/L) protected mice against the corticosterone-induced toxicity in PC12 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Conclusion The present study indicates that paeoniflorin has remarkable antidepressant function, which may be related with its cell protection activities.