forced swim test

Depression is an affective disorder characterized mainly by change in mood and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. A number of drugs are used for treatment but their adverse effects compromise the therapeutic effects. Thus search for an agent with minimal adverse effects and maximum therapeutic benefit is going on.  In Asia, Camellia sinensis (CS) popularly known as green tea is widely used as a beverage and has been reported to have antioxidant property.On this basis, the present study was designed to evaluate the antidepressant activity of Camellia sinensis on albino mice. The antidepressant effect of Camellia sinensis was examined using two behavioral models, the forced swim test (FST) and tail suspension test (TST) in albino mice. The effect ofethanolicextract of Camellia sinensisin three different doses (3.3, 16.5 and 33mg/kg) was compared with the standard antidepressant, imipramine (10mg/kg).  Antidepressant effect was studied both on acute and chronic administration (14 days) of Camellia sinensis. Acute and chronic treatment with Camellia sinensis reduced duration of immobility in FST in a dose dependent manner. In TST acute treatment with Camellia sinensis reduced duration of immobility at 3.3 & 16.5 mg/kg; whereas on chronic treatment CS reduced duration of immobility at 3.3 & 33 mg/kg. Acute & chronic treatment with Camellia sinensis produced antidepressant effect in both FST & TST models of depression in mice.

Curcumin a hydrophobic poly-phenol is derived from turmeric, the rhizome of the herb Curcuma longa L. Curcumin has been shown to exert anti-depressant effects in rodent models. However, poor bioavailability of curcumin curbs its usage as a therapeutic agent. In view of the above curcumin loaded solid lipid nanoparticles (C-SLNs) were prepared and evaluated for the antidepressant effect of acute administration of C-SLNs (1, 2.5, 5 and 10 mg/kg, p.o.) in the forced swim model of depression in mice. C-SLNs exhibited 47.42%, 67.39%, 31.67% and 36.2% reduction in immobility time after administration of 1, 2.5, 5 or 10 mg/kg dose (p.o.) respectively. Free curcumin however did not result in a significant reduction, except at 2.5 mg/kg, which could produce a reduction of 21.7% but was still 2.83 times lower than the effect obtained with a similar dose of C-SLNs. The results obtained may be assigned to the therapeutic amounts of curcumin reaching the brain. Thus, C-SLNs with their improved bioavailability and permeability possess higher anti-depressant potential upon administration of a single and a much lower dose when compared to free curcumin.

The main objective was to evaluate antidepressant effect of diltiazem in rats. Results of numerous pre-clinical studies have demonstrated that calcium channel blockers have an antidepressant activity & a potential for interaction with standard antidepressants. The present study is designed to test this hypothesis in rats .Rats were assigned to six groups,  one group is the control group (distilled water) , three groups are ,imipramine (10 mg/kg), venlafaxine (10 mg/kg), and diltiazem (10mg/kg) alone and other two groups are combination of diltiazem with imipramine, and diltiazem with venlafaxine. To know the antidepressant effect, forced swim model had been used, the immobility period of all the groups are compared with each other  after giving drugs for 7 days Diltiazem produced significant antidepressant effect either alone or in combination with imipramine. The efficacy of diltiazem (10mg/kg) was comparable to that of imipramine (10mg/kg) and venlafaxine (10mg/kg) results of the present study indicate antidepressant like activity of diltiazem