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Krishna Prasad D*1,2, Sriharsha SN2, Madhusudan Rao Y1, V. Naveena1
1*Vaagdevi Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Bollikunta, Warangal, Telangana, India.
2Pacific College of Pharmacy, Pacific University, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India.
A B S T R A C T
In the present study, the anti-depressant activity of Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn. leaves (Nymphaeceae) was studied in acute model forced swimming test (FST) and tail suspension test (TST) in mice, which serve as two predictive models of depression. NN has been widely used in medicine for the treatment of different central nervous system (CNS) disorders. Nevertheless, the available scientific information about this species is scarce and there are no reports related to its possible effects on the CNS. In this work, the effects of methanolic, hydroalcoholic and aqueous extracts of leaves of Nelumbo nucifera were evaluated in mice at the doses of 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg showed significant (*p<0.05) decrease in immobility time when compared with the control, which was received 2% tween 80. But among all these extracts, only the hydroalcoholic extract of NN showed a significant (#p<0.05) reduction in the duration of immobility time of mice at the dose of 200 mg/kg when subjected to both tail suspension and forced swim tests and the effects are comparable to that of standard drug i.e., fluoxetine (20mg/kg). These results demonstrated that NN showed antidepressant effects in vivo. Phytochemical screening showed presence of alkaloids and flavonoids in the extract of NN, which might affect certain mediators of brain to reduce immobility time in mice. The results of the present study indicate the potential for the use of NN as an adjuvant in the treatment of depression. In conclusion, the present study suggested that NN extracts possess potential antidepressant effects which could be of therapeutic interest for using in the treatment of patients with depressive disorders.
Keywords: Nelumbo nucifera leaves, Antidepressant, Forced swimming test (FST) and Tail suspension test (TST)
