Anti-depressant Potentials of Some Bioactive Components of Basella alba Leaves in Chronic Unpredictable Stress Rat Model

Bioactive components of Basella alba leaves are responsible for their antidepressant-like activity. However, the component with the greatest anti-depressant activity is unknown. This study investigated the antidepressant-like activities of the bioactive components (phenols, flavonoids, and glycosides) in Basella alba leaves. Forty-two male Wistar rats weighing 50–200 g were randomly divided into six groups (n=7). All the groups, except for the control, were subjected to chronic unpredictable stress (CUS) for five weeks. The rats in the CUS groups were treated with normal saline (1 mL/kg), escitalopram (5 mg/kg), and each of the phenol-, flavonoid-, and glycoside-rich Basella alba extracts (200 mg/kg) orally for twenty-one days. The tail suspension, sucrose preference, light-dark box, and hole-board tests were carried out before and after the induction of depression. In the CUS groups, reduced mobility time on tail suspension, increased percentage sucrose consumption, frequency of head dips on the hole board, and line-cross frequency in the light-dark box were observed. The latency on the hole board was reduced with Basella alba components, while there was a significant (p<0.05) decrease in serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor and an increase in serum IL-6 in the CUS animals not treated with extracts. The phenol-rich Basella alba extract showed the most potent antidepressant-like activity, followed by the flavonoid-rich extract. The bioactive components of Basella alba, particularly phenols, were effective in ameliorating the depressive features of CUS and should be further studied for use as an adjunct or stand-alone antidepressant.