ABSTRACT
Depression is a widespread psychiatric disorder affecting around 5% of the population. Furthermore, it is difficult to predict which patient will respond to any given treatment. In the traditional systems of medicine, many plants and formulations have been used to treat depression for thousands of years. Emblica officinalis (EO) contains tannic acid as its main ingredient and this compound has been shown to have non-selective mono-amine oxidase activity. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to evaluate the antidepressant potential of acute and chronic administration of EO in forced swim test (FST) and tail suspension test (TST). Inbred adult male Swiss Albino mice weighing 25-30g were used in the study. Standard drug (imipramine) and test drug (EO) were suspended in 1% gum acacia. The vehicle (10ml/kg, p.o), imipramine (10mg/kg, p.o) and EO (0.8mg/kg, 2mg/kg, 4mg/kg, p.o. respectively) were administered 1hour prior to acute study. In chronic study, all drugs were given for 10 days and the last dose was given 1hour before the experiment. Duration of immobility was noted in both the models. In our study, both imipramine and EO significantly reduced the duration of immobility in both experimental models as compared to the animals in the control group. The antidepressant activity of EO was comparable to that of standard drug imipramine. The results of the present study indicate the potential for use of EO as an adjuvant in the treatment of depression.