Publication:

Evaluation of the effects of Prunus dulcis on mice models of depression

Background Prunus dulcis (almond) contains high amounts of Inositol hexakisphosphate (IP6) which has proven antidepressant effects. Hence this study was done to evaluate the effects of Prunus dulcis on mice models of depression.

Methods Tails suspension test (TST) and forced swim test (FST) are usually used to assess the antidepressant activity in animal models. They were employed to analyse the effectiveness of Prunus dulcis before and after two weeks of the study period and the results were compared. The animals were divided into 4 groups of 6 mice each.group-1 (Normal control); group-2 was given fluoxetine 10 mg/kg; group- 3 and group- 4 were given 600 mg/kg and 1200 mg/kg of Prunus dulcis extract respectively. All the animals were on standard chow diet the entire duration of the study.

Results Prunus dulcis (almond) is found to be effective in treating depression, by significantly reducing the immobility period on test group 1 in forced swim test (p<0.05) and test group 2 in tail suspension test (p<0.05).

Conclusions The results clearly indicate the beneficial effects Prunus dulcis (almond) on mice models of depression. Further studies are required to prove its effectiveness in humans.