Evaluation of Antidepressant-like Effect of Dioscorea bulbifera tubers in Animal Models of Depression

Abstract

Introduction: Depression is a mental and physical illness that is the leading cause of disability, workplace absenteeism, decreased productivity, and high suicide rates. Depression is the most common psychiatric disorder in general practice, affecting approximately one in every ten patients seen in primary care settings. It is a major global public health concern because of its relatively high lifetime prevalence and the significant disability it causes. Depression accounted for 4.5% of the global disease burden (measured by disability-adjusted life years). Non-fatal health outcomes account for nearly 12% of global disability years. Depression has an extreme global economic burden and has been listed as the third largest cause of disease burden by the World Health Organization since 2008, and is expected to rank first by 2030.

Objectives: The purpose of the study was to assess Dioscorea bulbifera's ethanolic extract's antidepressant potential.

Methods: Two doses of ethanolic extract of Dioscorea bulbifera (150 and 300 mg/kg), and standard (imipramine 10 mg/kg) was daily oral administration to the mice for consecutive 14 days. The extract effect on the immobility time was monitored by a tail suspension test (TST) and a forced swimming test (FST).

Results: The tail suspension test (TST) and the forced swimming test (FST) were used to investigate antidepressant activity. For testing, two dosages of the ethanolic tuber extract 150 and 300 mg/kg were chosen. Imipramine (10 mg/kg, i.p.) was the prescribed medication. Similar to the effects of imipramine, ethanolic extract of Dioscorea bulbifera tubers greatly shortened the immobility period in both TST and FST

Conclusions: The preliminary phytochemical analysis of the ethanolic extract of Dioscorea bulbifera tubers revealed the presence of saponins, flavonoids, alkaloids, phenols, tannins, and glycosides In this study, the ethanolic extract of Dioscorea bulbifera tubers demonstrated a significant antidepressant-like effect, as evidenced by decreased immobility time in the tail suspension test (TST) and forced swim test (FST), compared to the ARS. These findings suggest that Dioscorea bulbifera tuber extract possesses antidepressant properties.