Neuropharmacology

Biography

Biography: Rafeeq Alam Khan

Abstract

Anxiety and depression are major disorders, caused by multiple factors including stress. Hence adjustment in life style can reduce the risk of these disorders. The growing awareness of relationship between food and health has revolutionized the food industry to maximize nutritional value of food products for improving health. Plants, fruits and vegetables have been a valuable source of natural products since long time, thus use of natural products has become increasingly popular among consumers to maintain health. Interestingly plant extracts, vegetables, fruits and their juices, rich in variety of nutrients and bioactive compounds, can be of great significance in therapeutics and have been screened for their potential uses as alternative remedies for many diseases. Present study describes a new behavioral model for testing antianxiety and antidepressant activity; hence this study was designed to evaluate juices of Citrus limon, Punica granatum and their combination on behavioral activity in rats. Rats were tested for their high motor activity, CNS stimulant effect and low anxiety like behavior using elevated plus maze and open field test, while antidepressant activity was determined by increased mobility of rats in forced to swimming test. C. limon and P. granatum juices were each administered in three different doses i.e. 0.2, 0.4 and 0.6ml/kg, and 2, 5 and 8 ml/kg respectively. C. limon at 0.4 ml/kg produced maximum CNS stimulant, anxiolytic and antidepressant effects in rats, while P. granatum produced significant CNS stimulant, anxiolytic and antidepressant activity at 5 and 8ml/kg. C. limon + P. granatum was also given in two combination doses i.e. 0.4 + 5ml/kg and 0.2 + 8ml/kg respectively. However combination of 0.4 + 5ml/kg produced significant anxiolytic, CNS stimulant and antidepressant effect, on the basis of these results it may be concluded that C. limon at 0.4 ml/kg, P. granatum in dose dependent manner and combination dose of C. limon and P. granatum at 0.4 + 5ml/kg may be used effectively as anxiolytic and antidepressant.