Abstract
Bacopa monniera (L.) Wettst (Scrophulariaceae), a reputed Ayurvedic medicinal plant of India, has been widely used as a brain tonic for centuries. In the present study, the methanol extract and different fractions of B. monniera were evaluated for antidepressant activity in the forced swimming test (FST) and tail suspension test (TST) in mice. The results showed that the methanol extract, EtOAc fraction, and n-BuOH fraction significantly reduced the immobility times both in FST and TST in mice after being administrated orally for 5 consecutive days. All tested samples, in the effective doses for FST and TST, showed no inhibitory effect against locomotor activity (LA) in mice.
Acknowledgements
The research work was supported by the Scientific Foundation of Shanghai (06DZ19717), and in part by the program for Changjiang Scholars and Inno vative Research Team in University (PCSIRT), NCET Foundation, NSFC (30725045), National 863 Program (2006AA02Z338), China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (20070410711), “973” program of China (2007CB507400), Shanghai Leading Academic Disci pline Project (B906), and the Scientific Foundation of Shanghai China (07DZ19728, 06DZ19005).
Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.