The experiment is devoted to the study of the antioxidant properties of neuropeptides from melanocortins ACTH(4-7)-Pro-Gly-Pro (Semax) and ACTH(6-9)-ProGly-Pro under conditions of experimental depression. The study was carried out on white outbred male rats. In the process of modeling experimental depression (social stress) inter-male confrontations were observed as a result of which groups of animals with aggressive and submissive behaviors were formed. The free radical oxidation processes were assessed by determining the activity of catalase, the initial content of malondialdehyde (MDA), the rate of spontaneous and ascorbate-dependent lipid peroxidation (LPO) in the hypothalamic and prefrontal regions of the brain by spectrophotometric method. It was found that under the influence of melanocortins, there is a pronounced suppression of the processes of free radical oxidation in the hypothalamic and prefrontal regions of the brain, which arose against the background of a stressful load which is manifested by a decrease in the indicators of the oxidative process.
