Adaptogenic studies of acetone extract of Musa paradisiaca L. fruit peels in albino Wistar rats

Abstract

Rationale: The present study deals with the evaluation of antistress activity in acetone extracts of M.paradisiaca unripe fruit peels and acetone extracts of M.paradisiaca ripe fruit peels (AURMP, ARMP) with special reference to stress induced depression in animal models. The presence of high amounts of plant sterols and triterpenoids in the peels are expected to reduce the cholesterol level and the modulating effect of cholesterol in the stress and chronic depression. The potentially high antioxidant activity in peel extracts is hypothesized to produce the adaptogenic activity. Materials and Methods: The anoxia stress was evaluated on the 7 th , 14 th , and 21 st day, one hour after the AURMP and ARMP treatment in the anoxia stress model. The swimming endurance stress was assessed as the mean swimming time on 8 th day following AURMP and ARMP treatment. The antidepressant activity was measured using open field and forced swim test (FST) following chronic variable stress (CVS) model. The level of tryptophan in brain was estimated ex vivo by HPLC technique. Results: The mean endurance time was increased significantly by AURMP (39.17 ± 1.88) treatment (P < 0.01) alone in comparison with the control in swimming endurance test. The anoxia stress model also showed significant (P < 0.001) antidepressant activity for AURMP and ARMP. Both AURMP and ARMP had suppressed the stress induced by CVS model and this was evidenced from the results of FST and open-field test confirming antidepressant activity. It is concluded that the AURMP and ARMP had shown promising antistress activity.