The Study of Natural Compounds as Antidepressants by Bioinformatics Methods

According to the World Health Organization, neuropsychiatric disorders pose an increasingly greater burden on health, society, and economy of countries. Currently, there are strategies to prevent some of these disorders, and there are treatments or means to alleviate their symptoms. In the case of depression, the medication consists of antidepressant drugs. Such drugs can also be used in other conditions like anxiety, pain, or insomnia. A shortcoming of the currently used antidepressants is the occurrence of side effects that sometimes are unbearable for the patient. In this respect, a promising direction is the usage of medicinal plants. Plant parts are rich in phytochemicals that could be beneficial in mental disorders by acting on various targets. Here, we investigated the antidepressant effect of ten natural compounds from sage, mint, and citrus. The biological activity of these compounds was investigated by calculating pKi values and affinities for dopamine receptor D2, serotonin transporter (SERT), and 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor 1A (5-HT1A) using quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) models. Our results showed that linalyl acetate, 1,8-cineole, and neryl acetate could be efficient antidepressants and neuroleptics.