Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

Determination of antidepressant activity of Cyperus rotundus L extract in rats

Gui-feng Hao^1,2, Mao-qin Tang³ , Yan-jin Wei⁴, Feng-yuan Che⁵, Li-ju Qian⁶

¹Shandong University School of Medicine, Jinan, 250012; ²Department of Psychology, People’s Hospital of Linyi City, Linyi, 276003; ³Department of Psychiatry, Shandong Mental Health Center, Jinan 250014; ⁵Department of Cardiology; ⁵Department of Neurology, People’s Hospital of Linyi City, Linyi, 276003; ⁶Department of Psychiatry, Jining Mental Hospital, Jining 272051, Shandong province, China.

For correspondence:- Mao-qin Tang Email: haoguifeng133@126.com Tel:+8653186336680

Received: 13 August 2016 Accepted: 4 March 2017 Published: 30 April 2017

Citation: Hao G, Tang M, Wei Y, Che F, Qian L. Determination of antidepressant activity of Cyperus rotundus L extract in rats. Trop J Pharm Res 2017; 16(4):867-871 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v16i4.17

© 2017 The authors.
This is an Open Access article that uses a funding model which does not charge readers or their institutions for access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) and the Budapest Open Access Initiative (http://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/read), which permit unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited..

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the antidepressant effect of Cyperus rotundus L. extract (CRLE) in rats.

Methods: A rat model of depression was prepared for behavioral tests including tail suspension test or forced swimming test. Wistar rats were randomly divided into six groups (n = 10): normal group (0.9 % NaCl), model group (0.9 % NaCl), positive drug group (fluoxetine 30 mg/kg) as well as CRLE groups, namely, 200, 400 and 800 mg/kg doses. All drugs were orally administered at 14: 00 - 15: 00 h for 1, 7 and 14 days, respectively. Tail suspension and forced swimming tests were conducted 1 h after the last treatment. Monoamine oxidize A (MAO) assay was commenced in rats after 14-day administration. Except for the rats in normal group, other group participated in the behavioral tests.

Results: The effect of 800 mg/kg CRLE was more potent than the positive drug fluoxetine. CRLE (≥ 200 mg/kg) treatment for 14 days significantly inhibited brain MAO activity in rats (p < 0.01) in a dose-dependent manner. Oral administration of 800 mg/kg CRLE produced MAO B inhibitory activity in rat brain (p < 0.01). Fluoxetine inhibited both brain MAO A and B activities in rats (p < 0.01).

Conclusion: The results suggest that CRLE produces significant antidepressant effect in rats, and therefore, may be useful for the treatment of depressed patients, but further studies are required to ascertain this

Keywords: Cyperus rotundus, Antidepressant, Tail suspension test, Forced swimming test, Monoamine oxidase, Fluoxetine