Abstract

INVESTIGATION OF ANTIDEPRESSANTS ACTIVITY OF NARDOSTACHYS JATAMANSI

JE Rachel Nivedita* and Majid Hussain

ABSTRACT

Medicinal plants are various plants thought by some to have medicinal properties, but few plants or their phytochemical constituents have been proven by rigorous science or approved by regulatory agencies such as the United States Food and Dnig Administration or European Food Safety Authority to have medicinal effects. World Health Organization (WHO) has provided a definition of medicinal plants, that is “A medicinal plant is any plant which, in one or more of its organs, contains substances that can be used for therapeutic purposes or which are precursors for synthesis of usefiil drugs. ”'World Health Organization (WHO) reported that 80% of the world‟s population depends on medicinal plants for their primary health care. In the Plant Kingdom, Medicinal plants forint the largest single grouping of plants. It is estimated that 30,000 species worldwide fall in this group, of which around 33% are trees ' Plants are known to be the source of many chemical compounds. Medicinal plants were used by people of ancient cultures without knowledge of their active ingredients. The common practice of taking crude extract orally is laden with hazards as the extracts may contain some toxic constituents. There is an ever increasing need to limit toxic clinical dnigs. In modern times, the active ingredients and curative actions of medicinal plants were first investigated through the use of European Scientific methods". The most important ingredients present in plant communities turn out to be alkaloids, terpenoids, steriods, phenols glycosides and tannins'.

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