| DOI: https://doi.org/10.14456/mujps.2015.3 | Pharm Sci Asia 2015; 42(1), 23-28 |
Evaluation of antidepressant like activity in Amaranthus caudatusB.S. Ashok Kumar1*, K. Lakshman2, Saleemullakhan3, C. Velmurugan4, E.R. Vishwanath1, S. Gopisetty1
1 Department of Pharmacognosy, Sri K.V.College of Pharmacy, Chickballapur, Karnataka, India
2 Department of Pharmacognosy, PES College of Pharmacy, Bangalore, Karanataka, India
3 Department of Pharmacognosy, Manipal College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Manipal, Karnataka, India
4 Department of Pharmacology, Sree Krishna Chaitanya College of Pharmacy, Madanapalle, Andhrapradesh, India
Depression is a chronic illness that affects mental stability, personal and social relations. Herbal drugs possess least side effects compared to synthetic medicines. Amaranthus caudatus belongs to family Amaranthaceae. Antidepressant activity of methanolic extract of whole plant of Amaranthus caudatus (MEAC) was investigated by using forced swimming test (FST) and tail suspension test (TST) models. Animals are divided into five groups, group 1 receives normal saline, group 2 and 3 receives escitalopram (4 mg/kg) and imipramine (4 mg/kg) and group 4 and 5 receives MEAC (100 and 200 mg/kg) dose respectively. Preliminary phytochemical analysis showed the presence of phenolic compounds, steroids, alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins and amino acids in methanol extract of A. caudatus. It has been observed from our study that both the Amaranthus caudatus extract at higher concentration showed significant (p<0.01) reduction in immobility in tail suspension and forced swim model which comparable to escitalopram and imipramine. It is concluded that A. caudatus possess antidepressant activity may be due to the presence of polyphenolic compounds and flavonoids. However further study is needed to understand mechanism of action and to identify active component responsible for antidepressant like activity.
Keyword:
Amaranthus caudatus, Antidepressant activity, Tail suspension test, Forced swimming test
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