Original Article ANTIDEPRESSANT-LIKE ACTIVITY OF AQUEOUS EXTRACT OF ROSA DAMASCENA IN MICE JAMALUDDIN SHAIKH * , AFAF MOHAMMED WELI , SADRI ABDULLAH SAID School of Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy and Nursing, University of Nizwa, Sultanate of Oman * Corresponding author: Jamaluddin Shaikh; * Email: jamaluddin@unizwa.edu.om Received: 17 Aug 2024, Revised and Accepted: 25 Sep 2024 ABSTRACT Objective: Plant-based drugs have the potential to be very effective substitutes for prescription antidepressants. Rosa damascena has therapeutic potential as an analgesic, anticonvulsant, antitussive, bronchodilatory, antibacterial, anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and laxative. Given this context, the goal of the current study was to assess Rosa damascena's potential antidepressant effects. Methods: Maceration was used to create an aqueous extract of Rosa damascena. The Tail Suspension Test (TST) on BALB/c mice and the Forced- Swimming test (FST) on C57BL/6 mice were used to quantify the antidepressant activity. Mice were divided into three groups: control (saline), standard (citalopram and desipramine), and Rosa damascena aqueous extract (n = 6 per group). Intraperitoneally (1 ml/100 g) injections of drugs were administered. Analysis of variance was used to examine the data, and then LSD post-hoc tests were performed. The data are expressed as mean±SEM. Results: Antidepressant-positive controls, citalopram and desipramine, significantly decreased the time of immobility in the FST and TST as compared to the vehicle control group (p<0.001). In FST, the immobility durations were significantly reduced by the Rosa damascena aqueous extract at a dose of 40 mg/kg compared to lesser doses of the same extract (10 and 20 mg/kg) (p<0.001). Similarly, the 40 mg/kg dose of Rosa damascena aqueous extract significantly reduced the length of immobility in TST (p<0.001). Conclusion: The present findings demonstrate Rosa damascena's antidepressant-like effects in mice. Further research is necessary to determine the underlying mechanism by which Rosa damascena generates effects akin to those of an antidepressant in light of this observation. Keywords: Rosa damascena, Antidepressant-like effect, Forced-swimming test, Tail suspension test, Citalopram, Desipramine © 2024 The Authors. Published by Innovare Academic Sciences Pvt Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.22159/ijpps.2024v16i11.52381 Journal homepage: https://innovareacademics.in/journals/index.php/ijpps INTRODUCTION Depression, an important psychiatric condition, is characterized by lethargy, shrinking self-esteem, restlessness, a change in appetite, and reduced attention [1]. Worldwide, depression affects a sizable percentage of adults [2]. While anybody can suffer from depression, certain individuals and populations are more prone to progressing with this disorder than others. Compared to other age groups, the pace of growth in depression was noticeably faster in younger age groups [3]. It is well documented that the main root of this ailment is the insufficiency of monoamines like Norepinephrine (NE) and serotonin (5-HT) in the brain. Many pharmacological antidepressants, such as monoamine oxidase inhibitors, Tricyclic Antidepressants (TCA), and selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRI), have been used extensively to treat depression [4]. However, because of a number of side effects, including weight gain, disturbed sleep, and sexual dysfunction, all of these medications used to treat depression disrupt the course of treatment [5]. One of the best and safest sources of medicine is found in nature. Based on the information at hand, it is now plausible that herbal medicine can be used to treat almost every condition found in nature. Because of this, the evaluation, classification, and documentation of different medicinal herbs and their chemical constituents with respect to a variety of illnesses, such as anxiety, analgesia, and depression, have received a great deal of attention [6]. Plant-based medicines have the potential to be excellent substitutes for the chemical antidepressants that are now on the market because they are often linked to satisfactory protection without adverse effects. Many studies conducted recently have focused on classifying the antidepressant potential of these herbal drugs and the classification of their therapeutically active ingredients [7-9]. Given that there are around 400,000 species of higher plants in the world and that only a small percentage of these have been examined, it is clear that plants will continue to be a great source of leads for drug discovery [10, 11]. By locating novel chemical entities for medication development, studies targeted at dissecting natural compounds from herbal sources can quicken the drug discovery process. Little research has been done on finding botanical medications for depression despite significant efforts being made to find medications for other illnesses. Oman is home to over a thousand terrestrial plant species, many of which are indigenous and have therapeutic benefits [12]. One of the indigenous species in the Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar mountain range of the Al-Dakhiliya Governorate, Sultanate of Oman, is Rosa damascena. Rosa damascena is a perennial bushy shrub that grows to a height of one to two meters. Its leaves are imparipinnate, with five to seven leaflets per leaf. [13]. Numerous studies have examined the various activities of Rosa damascena, including its analgesic, anticonvulsant, antitussive, bronchodilatory, antibacterial, anti-diabetic, anti- inflammatory, antioxidant, and laxative properties [14-16]. In Oman, Rosa Damascena, locally known as Damask rose, is utilized as a therapeutic agent for cosmetics and aromatherapy due to its high vitamin and antioxidant content [17]. However, a thorough investigation of this plant's neuropharmacological effect is lacking, which inspired us to look into Rosa Damascena's antidepressant effects in two behavioral antidepressant models, the Forced- Swimming Test (FST) and the Tail Suspension Test (TST). MATERIALS AND METHODS Animal Two strains of mice, each weighing 22-30 g, were used for two different tests. For the FST, C57BL/6 mice were employed. Based on a previous publication on this strain of mice [18], this strain was chosen for the FST. However, based on a previous report that showed the immobility periods across the strains of mice and proved the good sensitivity of the BALB/c strain of mice, male BALB/c mice were chosen for the TST [19]. All the animals used in the current study were supplied by the Animal Facility Units of the International Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Print ISSN: 2656-0097 | Online ISSN: 0975-1491 Vol 16, Issue 11, 2024