cornilius maximus Posted October 2, 2014 Hello people, I am preparing a uni assignment on Native Australian/Oceania plants that display antidepressant properties. I'm not targeting any specific receptors etc. as such, I'm even interested in general well being properties. Anecdotal properties are also relevant for this project. So if anyone in the community can guide me with this it would be gratefully appreciated. peace cornillius maximus Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alice Posted October 2, 2014 Pituri for one. There are a bunch of papers showing that nicotine has antidepressant properties. You could make an argument for the safrole containing plants (like zieria, and lots more - there's a list on this forum somewhere) acting as antidepressants, I'm sure you'd find some studies to back that up. Eugenol has been written about. There's a book, Medicinal plants of Australia, or something like that, that might have a few more. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alchemica Posted October 2, 2014 Nelumbo nucifera: Neferine from lotus seed embryos may have antidepressant activity as indicated by its anti-immobility effects in mice in a forced swimming test. link Neferine is a direct 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) 1A receptor agonist and may inhibit 5-HT reuptake or activation of 5-HT metabolism. The leaves also contain psychoactive alkaloids. The antidepressant effect was comparable with that of maprotiline and imipramine. [1] Duboisia species as sources of scopolamine: "Scopolamine produces rapid and significant improvement in patients with depression, most notably in patients that do not respond to current antidepressant treatments." [2] Good luck with the assignment Share this post Link to post Share on other sites