A REVIEW OF MEDICINAL PLANTS POSSESSING ANTIDEPRESSANT POTENTIAL

Major depression is a debilitating disorder, predicted to be the second most prevalent human malady by the year 2020. Although a variety of chemical antidepressant remedies like tricyclic antidepressants, monoamine oxidase inhibitors and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are available, yet approximately 30% of depressed patients are resistant to the existing drugs and remaining 70% do not achieve full remission. Therefore, a constant urge continues for discovery of newer, better-tolerated and more efficacious treatments of depression, which include search for discovery of medicinal plants with potential antidepressant activity. The present paper discusses anti-depression potential of 70 medicinal plants with emphasis on their pre-clinical and clinical reports. Majority of plants shows antidepressant activity through serotonergic, noradrenergic and dopaminergic systems.