Evaluation of the Antidepressant Effects of Phyllanthus amarus in Mice

Depression is one of the leading causes for many disorders in both developed and developing countries. The objective of the present study is to evaluate the antidepressant activity of Phyllanthus amarus and to compare with the standard drug imipramine and control group of Swiss albino mice by tail Suspension test (TST) and force swimming test (FST). Present study showed that P. amarus has significant antidepressant activity at doses of 50, 100 mg / kg in acute models of depression. The results showed that the alcoholic extract of P. amarus decreased immobility time with the increase swimming time. Treatment drug doses at (50, 100 mg / kg, p.o.) significantly (P<0.01) reduced the immobility time as compared to the immobility time of control in both the screening models. Imipramine at doses of (20 mg/kg, p.o.,) was selected as reference standard. These results suggested the anti-depression activity of the plant extract. The effect of the alcoholic extract was less potent than standard imipramine group which was used as a standard. As an indicator of the antidepressant effect, it was shown that the immobility time of animals in the forced-swimming and tail-suspension experiments was shorter, i.e. the activity of the animals was higher. Alcoholic extract of P. amarus displayed dosedependent antidepressant effect at doses of 50 and 100 mg / kg. Both models have proved to be equally valuable for demonstration of substances with a potential antidepressant effect. The pharmacological approach to the treatment of depression includes the action of Phyllanthus amarusschum and thonnis the natural antidepressant.