Antidepressant-Like and Antioxidant Effects ofPlinia trunciflorain Mice

Abstract

The jaboticaba tree,Plinia trunciflora(O. Berg) Kausel, is popularly named “jabuticabeira” in Brazil and is used in folk medicine to treat diabetes and chronic inflammation of the tonsils, but studies evaluating the central effects of this species are limited. This study evaluated the antidepressant-like and antioxidant effects ofP. trunciflora(PT) aqueous extract, in which five different anthocyanins were identified. PT showed significant ferric-reduction power and DPPH radical scavenging activityin vitroand reduced lipid peroxidation bothin vitroandex vivo. At the behavioural level, PT (400 and 800 mg/kg, i.p.) dose-dependently reduced immobility time in the tail suspension test in Swiss male mice. The identification of bioactive compounds accompanied by thein vitroandex vivoantioxidant activity of PT suggests that these activities might be related to the antidepressant-like activity ofP. trunciflora.