Synthesis and Evaluation of the Antidepressant Activity of Quinoxaline-2,3(1H,4H)-dione Derivatives

A series of quinoxaline-2,3(1H,4H)-dione derivatives, (5a-t) and other heterocyclic compounds (7, 9, and 13-17) were synthesized, and their antidepressant activities were evaluated. The result of the force swimming test (FST) showed that the compound 5-hexyl-tetrazolo[1,5-a] quinoxalin-4(5H)-one (5d) had excellent antidepressant activities, decreasing immobility time by 64.27% at a dose of 50 mg/kg. The tail suspension test demonstrates that compound 5d possesses better antidepressant activity than the commercially available drug fluoxetine (FXT). The result of open-field tests for compound 5d indicated that its antidepressant activity is not the result of central nervous system stimulant properties, and further confirms its antidepressant-like effect.