Antidepressant Effect of a Polyherbal Syrup Based on Iranian Traditional Medicine

Background and objectives: Depression is a common and costly public-health disease. It has been considered in Iranian traditional medicine and many herbal combinations have been used for healing depressive-like disorders. Traditional herbal medicines should be converted into common dosage forms for patient acceptance and easier usage. Methods: In the present research, a poly herbal syrup containing Echium amoenum, Lavandula angustifolia, Melissa officinalis, Cuscuta chinensis, Vitis sp., Prunus domestica and Alhagi camelorum was formulated and its physicochemical characteristics including physical appearance, pH, viscosity, density, dried residue, physical stability and microbiological levels were evaluated. Furthermore, the antidepressant activity was determined by tail suspension test (TST) and also the effect of the formulation on the serum levels of dopamine and adrenaline was assessed in mice. Results: The syrup showed to be stable regarding physical changes and microbiological quality control tests. It significantly reduced the time of immobility in TST (p<0.05) and increased the serum levels of dopamine (p<0.001) more considerable than the positive control group fluoxetine (p<0.01). Compared with the saline control group, the serum level of adrenaline in the syrup low dose (3 mL/kg) and fluoxetine groups increased but in high dose of the syrup (6 mL/kg) significantly decreased (p<0.05). Conclusion: Regarding the modern evidences about the plants used in the poly herbal syrup and physiochemical stability and the considerable results of the in vivo experiments, it could be suggested as a suitable antidepressant agent.