Evaluation of Antidepressant activity of Ficus carica leaves extract

People in modern society suffer from different psychiatric disorders, particularly the depression. The exact cause of depression is unknown, but researchers suggest that depression is due to imbalancimg of neurotransmitters like serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine in the brain. Factors that may contribute to depression include heredity, stress, chronic illnesses, certain personality traits and hormonal changes. However, several syntetic drugs are available in market, but all are associated with some limitations and there is an urgent need for alternative medications for these disorders. To date the search for novel pharmacotherapy from medicinal plants for psychiatric illness was significantly progressed. Therefore in the present study we evaluates the antidepressant activity of ethanolic extract of Ficus carica leaves by using Forced swimming test (FST) and Tail suspension test (TST) models. The results showed that the extract shows decrease in immobility time and significantly increase in the level of biogenic amine along with reduction in monoamino oxidase enzyme that metabolizes biogenic amines in both experimental models as compared to the animals in the control group.