Antidepressant activity of a polyherbal mixture in mice

A polyherbal product composed of natural royal jelly, Panax ginseng root Extract, Clove powder, Clove oil, Cinnamon oil, Ginger oil, Nigella sativa oil and Capsicum powder have been shown to have antioxidant, antistressor, antianxiety and antidiabetic effects. The present study was undertaken to investigate the effect of this polyherbal mixture on depression. Swiss albino mice of either sex (20 – 30 g) were used in this study. Five groups of mice were treated with different treatments (corn oil 10 ml/kg, Xtend® 70, 140 280 mg/kg, sertraline 5 mg/kg per os) for 30 consecutive days. Experiments were done on days 1, 15 and 31 by employing two experimental models , the Forced Swim Test (FST) and Tail Suspension Test (TST) to determine the effects of Xtend® on duration of immobility. The results showed that Xtend® in a dose dependent manner significantly reduces the duration of immobility (p 0.05) compared to control in FST and TST. However, these treatments did not affect the number of crossing and rearing in the open-field test. There were no signs of acute toxicity observed for Xtend® in ATS. Results obtained from the present study suggested that, the polyherbal mixture Xtend® exhibited antidepressant – like effects and indicated the potential use of this polyherbal formulation as an adjuvant in the treatment of depression.