Abstract
Depression is a major health problem currently recognized as a leading cause of morbidity worldwide. In the United States alone, depression affects approximately 20% of the population. With current medications suffering from major shortcomings that include slow onset of action, poor efficacy, and unwanted side effects, the search for new and improved antidepressants is ever increasing. In an effort to evade side effects, people have been resorting to popular traditional herbal medicines to relieve the symptoms of depression, and there is a need for more empirical knowledge about their use and effectiveness. This review provides an overview of the current knowledge state regarding a variety of natural plant products commonly used in depression. Herbal medicines discussed that have been used in clinical trials for the treatment of mild to moderate depression states include the popular St. John’s wort, saffron, Rhodiola, lavender, Echium, and the Chinese formula banxia houpu. In addition, new emerging herbal products that have been studied in different animal models are discussed including Polygala tenuifolia, the traditional Chinese herbal SYJN formula, gan mai da zao, and Cannabis sativa constituents. A comprehensive review of the chemical, pharmacological, and clinical aspects of each of the reviewed products is provided. Finally, recent preclinical studies reporting the antidepressant action of marine-derived natural products are discussed at the end of the review.
Keywords: Chemical constituents, clinical trials, depression, herbal medicines
Current Medicinal Chemistry
Title:Nature Against Depression
Volume: 19 Issue: 14
Author(s): A.T. El-Alfy, E.A. Abourashed, R.R. Matsumoto
Affiliation:
Keywords: Chemical constituents, clinical trials, depression, herbal medicines
Abstract: Depression is a major health problem currently recognized as a leading cause of morbidity worldwide. In the United States alone, depression affects approximately 20% of the population. With current medications suffering from major shortcomings that include slow onset of action, poor efficacy, and unwanted side effects, the search for new and improved antidepressants is ever increasing. In an effort to evade side effects, people have been resorting to popular traditional herbal medicines to relieve the symptoms of depression, and there is a need for more empirical knowledge about their use and effectiveness. This review provides an overview of the current knowledge state regarding a variety of natural plant products commonly used in depression. Herbal medicines discussed that have been used in clinical trials for the treatment of mild to moderate depression states include the popular St. John’s wort, saffron, Rhodiola, lavender, Echium, and the Chinese formula banxia houpu. In addition, new emerging herbal products that have been studied in different animal models are discussed including Polygala tenuifolia, the traditional Chinese herbal SYJN formula, gan mai da zao, and Cannabis sativa constituents. A comprehensive review of the chemical, pharmacological, and clinical aspects of each of the reviewed products is provided. Finally, recent preclinical studies reporting the antidepressant action of marine-derived natural products are discussed at the end of the review.
Export Options
About this article
Cite this article as:
A.T. El-Alfy, E.A. Abourashed, R.R. Matsumoto , Nature Against Depression, Current Medicinal Chemistry 2012; 19 (14) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/092986712800229096
DOI https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/092986712800229096 |
Print ISSN 0929-8673 |
Publisher Name Bentham Science Publisher |
Online ISSN 1875-533X |
Call for Papers in Thematic Issues
Advances in Medicinal Chemistry: From Cancer to Chronic Diseases.
The broad spectrum of the issue will provide a comprehensive overview of emerging trends, novel therapeutic interventions, and translational insights that impact modern medicine. The primary focus will be diseases of global concern, including cancer, chronic pain, metabolic disorders, and autoimmune conditions, providing a broad overview of the advancements in ...read more
Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms of Non-Infectious Inflammatory Diseases: Focus on Clinical Implications
The Special Issue covers the results of the studies on cellular and molecular mechanisms of non-infectious inflammatory diseases, in particular, autoimmune rheumatic diseases, atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and other age-related disorders such as type II diabetes, cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, etc. Review and research articles as well as methodology papers that summarize ...read more
Chalcogen-modified nucleic acid analogues
Chalcogen-modified nucleosides, nucleotides and oligonucleotides have been of great interest to scientific research for many years. The replacement of oxygen in the nucleobase, sugar or phosphate backbone by chalcogen atoms (sulfur, selenium, tellurium) gives these biomolecules unique properties resulting from their altered physical and chemical properties. The continuing interest in ...read more
Current advances in inherited cardiomyopathy
Describe in detail all novel advances in multimodality imaging related to inherited cardiomyopathy diagnosis and prognosis. Shed light to deeper phenotypic characterization. Acknowledge recent advances in genetics, genomics and precision medicineread more
- Author Guidelines
- Graphical Abstracts
- Fabricating and Stating False Information
- Research Misconduct
- Post Publication Discussions and Corrections
- Publishing Ethics and Rectitude
- Increase Visibility of Your Article
- Archiving Policies
- Peer Review Workflow
- Order Your Article Before Print
- Promote Your Article
- Manuscript Transfer Facility
- Editorial Policies
- Allegations from Whistleblowers
- Announcements
Related Articles
-
Autism, Mitochondria and Polybrominated Diphenyl Ether Exposure
CNS & Neurological Disorders - Drug Targets Adenoviral Vector-Mediated Gene Transfer for Human Gene Therapy
Current Gene Therapy New Indications for Established Drugs: Combined Tumor-Stroma-Targeted Cancer Therapy with PPARγ Agonists, COX-2 Inhibitors, mTOR Antagonists and Metronomic Chemotherapy
Current Cancer Drug Targets Specialisation of the Tropomyosin Composition of Actin Filaments Provides New Potential Targets for Chemotherapy
Current Cancer Drug Targets Targeting Class IIa HDACs: Insights from Phenotypes and Inhibitors
Current Medicinal Chemistry Gamma-Secretase as a Pharmacological Target in Alzheimer Disease Research: When, Why and How?
Current Pharmaceutical Design Mechanisms of Control of Neuron Survival by the Endocannabinoid System
Current Pharmaceutical Design Progress in Small Molecule Therapeutics for the Treatment of Retinoblastoma
Mini-Reviews in Medicinal Chemistry The Many Faces of Amyloid β in Alzheimers Disease
Current Molecular Medicine miRNAs in Cancer Prevention and Treatment and as Molecular Targets for Natural Product Anticancer Agents
Current Cancer Drug Targets EMT Blockage Strategies: Targeting Akt Dependent Mechanisms for Breast Cancer Metastatic Behaviour Modulation
Current Gene Therapy Cytopathological Mechanisms in Mitochondrial Disease
Current Chemical Biology Perinatal Management of Fetal Tumors
Current Pediatric Reviews Engineered Peptides for Applications in Cancer-Targeted Drug Delivery and Tumor Detection
Mini-Reviews in Medicinal Chemistry Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptors [VEGFR] as Target in Breast Cancer Treatment: Current Status in Preclinical and Clinical Studies and Future Directions
Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry Trends in Mitochondrial Therapeutics for Neurological Disease
Current Medicinal Chemistry Hypoxic Tumor Microenvironment and Cancer Cell Differentiation
Current Molecular Medicine Clinical Considerations of Focal Drug Delivery in Cancer Treatment
Current Drug Delivery Induction of Apoptosis via the Modulation of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) Production in the Treatment of Myeloid Leukemia
Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology Design and Development of Nanovehicle-Based Delivery Systems for Preventive or Therapeutic Supplementation with Flavonoids
Current Medicinal Chemistry