Attenuation of depressant activity by ethanol extract of seeds of areca catechu in swiss albino mice after deca-days administration

Depression is the loss of ability to enjoy life and experience pleasure. The symptoms are constant, ranging from moderate to severe. If untreated, major depression typically lasts for about six months. Some people experience just a single depressive episode in life. The objective of the present study was to evaluate attenuation of depressant activity by Ethanolic extract of seeds of Areca catechu in Swiss Albino mice after deca day's administration. Animals were randomly allocated into five groups comprising six animals in each. Group I was treated with normal saline (0.1 ml/10 g) which served as control. Group II was treated with Imipramine at the dose of 10 mg/kg which served as standard. Groups II, IV and V were treated with three different doses (40, 80, and 160 mg/kg) of Ethanolic extract of seeds of Areca catechu. All the drugs were given intraperitonially (0.1 ml/10 g) daily for 9 days and 30min before the experiment on the 10th day. Ethanolic extract of seeds of Areca catechu has shown significant antidepressant activity at all the doses but more evident at the dose of 80mg/kg which was comparable with Imipramine 10mg/kg by forced swim test and tail suspension test.