---
title: Can agmatine help prevent anxiety and depression when progesterone drops?
description: Yes. When female rats had their progesterone suddenly withdrawn, they showed anxiety and depression-like behavior, but agmatine and related compounds prevente
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/agmatine-prevents-the-manifestation-of-impulsive-burying-and-depression-like-2023/
---

- [Niyora](https://niyora.com/)
- [Research](https://niyora.com/research/)
- [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/)
- Can agmatine help prevent anxiety and depression when progesterone drops?

Lab study, 2023

# Can agmatine help prevent anxiety and depression when progesterone drops?

Yes. When female rats had their progesterone suddenly withdrawn, they showed anxiety and depression-like behavior, but agmatine and related compounds prevented most of these symptoms.

 Early or limited evidence

Female rats

## What they did

Researchers gave female rats progesterone for 21 days then suddenly stopped it. Some rats received agmatine or related compounds from day 14-21, others received nothing. They measured anxiety behavior (marble burying), depression behavior (immobility), and brain markers (agmatine levels, progesterone levels, and inflammation).

## What they found

Progesterone withdrawal caused: increased marble burying (anxiety behavior), increased immobility time (depression behavior), and reduced exploration of open areas. Agmatine at doses of 5-20 mg/kg, L-arginine at 100 mg/kg, amino-guanidine at 25 mg/kg, and arcaine at 50 mg/kg significantly reduced both the anxiety and depression-like behaviors. Brain agmatine levels, progesterone levels, and inflammatory markers were improved by the treatments.

## What it means for you

The agmatinergic system (a brain chemical pathway) may be important in how progesterone withdrawal causes anxiety and depression in PMDD. Agmatine and related compounds could be potential treatments. However, this is animal research on rats, so we don't know yet if these compounds would work or what doses would be safe in humans.

21

Days of progesterone exposure

5-20 mg/kg

Agmatine dose

Days 14-21

Treatment period during protocol

## About the study

Original title Agmatine prevents the manifestation of impulsive burying and depression-like behaviour in progesterone withdrawn female rats Authors Vinchurney MD, Dhokne MD, Kotagale N et al. Journal Hormones and behavior Year 2023 Study design Lab study What was tested Agmatine, L-arginine, amino-guanidine, and arcaine Read the paper [doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2023.105361](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2023.105361)

## Topics

[Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pmdd/)[Low mood and depression](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-depression-mood/)[Anxiety and tension](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-anxiety/)[Calcium](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-calcium/)

Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits.

Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor.

## Related studies

Study, 2025

Could taking a combination of vitamins and minerals help with PMS and PMDD symptoms?

Case-control study, 2024

Are vitamin D and calcium deficiency linked to severe PMS symptoms?

Systematic review, 2026

Does vitamin D supplementation help PMS symptoms?

Cohort study, 2025

Do women with PMS or PMDD report lower quality of life than women without these conditions?

Review, 2017

What causes PMDD and what are the best treatments?

Review, 2015

What treatments work best for PMDD and PMS?

Ask AI about this page

Copy prompt

ChatGPT

↗

Claude

↗

Perplexity

↗

Google AI Mode

↗

Grok

↗