Antidepressive Activity of Processed Pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima) Seeds on Rats
Shemi George and P Nazni
Department of Food Science, Periyar University, Salem-636 011, Tamil Nadu, India.
Abstract—The aim of the present study was to determine the anti depressive activity of raw, autoclaved, boiled, germinated and roasted pumpkin seeds powder extract compared with the standard drug: Imipriamine (30 mg/kg) in normal and depressed control rats. Methyl Isobutyl Ketone (100 mg/kg) was used as the depression inducer in rats. The result shows that there was a significant ( P < 0.01) decrease in duration of immobility time (sec) of all experimental rats compared with depressed control group in Force Swimming Test and a significant ( P < 0.01) decrease in duration of immobility time (sec) of all experimental rats compared with depressed control group for Tail Suspension Test.
Index Terms—Depression, Pumpkin seeds, Methyl isobutyl ketone, Force swimming test, Tail Suspension test.
Cite: Shemi George and P Nazni, "Antidepressive Activity of Processed Pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima) Seeds on Rats," International Journal of Pharma Medicine and Biological Sciences, Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 225-231, October 2012.