Antidepressant Activities of the Methanol Extract, Petroleum Ether and Ethyl Acetate Fractions of Morus mesozygia Stem Bark

Fred-Jaiyesimi A. Adediwura, Oredipe A. Bola

Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Sagamu Campus, Nigeria.

DOI: 10.4236/pp.2013.41014                

Abstract

Morus mesozygia Stapf (Moraceae) is the only Morus species indigenous to Tropical Africa. It is believed in traditional medicine that the plant exhibits several medicinal properties. The antidepressant-like activities of the crude methanol extract, petroleum ether and ethyl acetate fractions were investigated using the Forced Swimming Test (FST) and Tail Suspension Test (TST) models. The petroleum ether fraction at a dose of 140 mg/kg was the most effective in both the FST and TST when compared to the activity of the reference drug Imipramine (250 mg/kg) by reducing the immobility duration of the animals by 66.8% and 49.4% respectively.

Keywords

Morus mesozygia; Antidepressant Activity; Forced Swimming Test; Tail Suspension Test

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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