Effectiveness of Cuscuta planiflora Ten. and Nepeta menthoides Boiss. & Buhse in Major Depression

Abstract

Background. Depression is one the most common mental disorders that can be seen all over the world. In traditional Persian medicine, some medicinal herbs are recommended for depression treatment. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of Cuscuta planiflora Ten. and Nepeta menthoides Boiss. & Buhse in patients with major depression. Methodology. This study is a randomized triple-blind controlled clinical trial conducted in the year 2010 in Shiraz University of Medical Sciences on patients with major depression. Pharmaceutical capsules of Cuscuta planiflora (500 mg) and Nepeta menthoides (400 mg) were prepared by a pharmacist. Patients were randomly assigned to 3 groups: group A (treated with Nepeta menthoides capsules and conventional drugs), group B (treated with Cuscuta planiflora capsules and conventional drugs), and group C (treated only with conventional drugs). The study period was 8 weeks and depression was measured before and after the study by Beck Depression Inventory and Hamilton Depression Inventory. The data were analyzed by SPSS version 20 and the P < .05 was considered statistically significant. Results. A total of 43 subjects participated in this study, of whom 81.4% were females (n ¼ 35) and 18.6% were males (n ¼ 8). The mean + standard deviation of age of the participants was 38 + 10.9 years. The majority of patients (65.1%, n ¼ 28) were married. There were 15 patients (34.9%) in group A, 13 (30.29%) in group B, and 15 (34.9%) in group C. There was a significant decrease in mean scores of Beck and Hamilton depression inventories in the 3 groups after treatment (P < .01); moreover, there was more decrease in scores of the Beck and Hamilton depression inventories in groups A and B compared with group C after treatment (P < .01). Conclusion. Despite the paucity of the population under study, the findings showed that Cuscuta planiflora and Nepeta menthoides capsules could be effective, affordable herbal medicines with improved cost-benefit in treatment of major depression and it is worth designing further and more extensive studies to get to a more accurate conclusion.

Herbal medicines in the treatment of psychiatric disorders: 10‐year updated review

“…The adverse events (drowsiness, insomnia, decreased libido, and constipation) were also less frequent in the catmint group relative to sertraline. Another clinical trial using catmint (800 mg per day) in combination with dodder (2,000 mg per day) has been conducted in 43 participants with MDD (Firoozabadi, Zarshenas, Salehi, Jahanbin, & Mohagheghzadeh, ). The 8 week randomized triple‐blind controlled clinical trial conducted in Iran, randomly assigned the patients into three groups: Group A (catmint capsules and conventional drugs), Group B (treated with dodder capsules and conventional drugs), and Group C (treated only with conventional drugs).…”

Nepeta menthoides Boiss. & Buhse, an endemic species in Iran: A review of traditional uses, phytochemistry and pharmacology

“…In this study, fifteen patients received only N. menthoides capsules (400 mg) and fifteen patients treated with N. menthoides capsules and conventional drugs. Pharmaceutical capsules of N. menthoides could be potentially effective in depressed patients (26). In parallel, Kolouri et al assessed the effectiveness of N. menthoides in the treatment of major depression (MD).…”

Medicinal uses, pharmacology, and phytochemistry of Convolvulaceae plants with central nervous system efficacies: A systematic review

“…In a clinical report, pharmaceutical capsules of C. planiflora could decrease the mean scores of Beck and Hamilton depression inventories in patients diagnosed with major depression, suggesting the potential utilization for the treatment of major depression (Firoozabadi et al, ).…”