Antidepressant-like activity of Benincasa hispida fruits in mice: Possible involvement of monoaminergic and GABAergic systems

Depression is one of the major mental disorders affecting hundreds of millions of people all over the world. There is a constant need to identify newer antidepressants from plants. Benincasa hispida (Cucurbitaceae) fruits were selected for evaluating its antidepressant potential in mice. There is only one study showing the antidepressant-like effect of the methanolic extract (0.6 and 1 g/kg administered three times and only once, respectively) of B. hispida fruits in mouse forced swim test (FST). The study showed the antidepressant-like effect of the methanolic extract in FST only and the mechanisms responsible for this activity have not been studied.