The antidepressant-like activity of ellagic acid and its effect on hippocampal brain derived neurotrophic factor levels in mouse depression models

The aim of present study was to evaluate the antidepressant-like activity of ellagic acid (EA) in mice-forced swim test (FST) and tail suspension test (TST) and the possible role of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in EA’s antidepressant-like effect. We found that EA and sertraline did not affect the spontaneous locomotor activity of mice. EA produced statistically significant decrease in immobility time as compared to vehicle group in TST. EA at 1 and 5 mg/kg doses did not produce any significant effect in immobility time as compared to vehicle group in FST. But EA produced significantly reduced immobility time at 2.5 mg/kg dose. EA treatment increased hippocampal BDNF level. This study demonstrates that EA is able to produce antidepressant-like effect in both TST and FST in mice. Moreover, the antidepressant-like effects of EA seems to be mediated by increased BDNF level in mice hippocampus.