Angelica glauca oil exhibits antidepressant-like effect in experimental animals: An in silico, ADMET and in vivo investigation

Abstract

Angelica glauca is an aromatic plant of the Apiaceae family. Traditionally A. glauca is used to cure several diseases including anxiety and depression. The present investigation is focused on studying the in silico and in-vivo antidepressant potential of A. glauca essential oil (AGEO). The GC-MS analysis was performed on A. glauca root oil to confirm the genuineness of the drug. Compounds viz. alpha phellandrene, limonene, and z-ligustilide obtained through GC-MS analysis were screened for Monoamine oxidase from Aspergillus niger (MAO-N) (PDB: 2vvl) binding through molecular docking studies by using autoDock/Mcule tool. Prediction of ADME and physicochemical properties of above-detected compounds was done by using preADMET tool version 2.0. The antidepressant activity was investigated by the forced swimming method and tail suspension method. The docking studies exhibits that limonene has a maximum affinity for MAO-N, followed by alpha phellandrene and z-ligustilide. It has been observed that upon oral administration of A. glauca oil (250 & 500 µl/kg b.w.) and reference drug selegiline at the dose of (0.2 mg/kg) shows significant (p<0.01) reduction in immobility in rats in both the behavioral models. All the results were compared with the control group and justified by histopathological analysis of the brain. The data obtained from the study suggests the antidepressant-like action of A. glauca root oil and its phytocompounds in the behavioral models of FST and TST in a dose-dependent manner.