Anti-inflammatory activity of ethanolic extract of Peuraria tuberosa tubers

Abstract

Depression is one of the leading health problems worldwide and is commonly connected with oxidative stress and monoaminergic dysfunction. The present investigation was designed to evaluate the antidepressant-like efficacy of ethanolic extract of Pueraria tuberosa tubers (EEPT) in validated behavioural models in mice. The extract yield was 25.79% w/w and phytochemical screening showed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, phenols, tannins and triterpenoids. The quantitative analysis showed the high presence of phenolics (66.62 ± 0.453 mg GAE/g) and flavonoids (62.03 ± 0.588 mg QE/g). The Forced Swim Test (FST) and Tail Suspension Test (TST) were used to evaluate antidepressant activity. EEPT significantly enhanced the swimming frequency in FST (22.16 ± 2.483 at 200 mg/kg; 31.16 ± 3.061 at 400 mg/kg) compared to control (17.66 ± 1.366) and was close to the impact of fluoxetine (35.83 ± 3.371). In TST, the immobility period was dramatically decreased at 400 mg/kg (25.17 ± 1.352 sec) than control (43.00 ± 1.211 sec) with similar findings to fluoxetine (10.17 ± 0.667 sec). The present results demonstrate that EEPT shows dose-dependent antidepressant-like effects probably mediated by its phenolic and flavonoid contents, thereby indicating its potential as a natural treatment agent for depression.