Evaluation of antidepressant activities of Rose oil and Geranium oil in the mouse forced swim test

Background and Objective: Depression is one of the most common psychiatric disorders that results in significant consequences in active population of the society. In traditional manuscripts, there are many indications about the anti-depressant effects of Rose oil. The purpose of this study was to determine the anti-depressant effects of Rose oil and Geranium oil. Methods: All experiments were carried out on male Swiss-Webster mice (25-30 gr). The anti-depressant activities of Rose oil and Geranium oil were assessed using the forced swim test. In this test, mice were placed into a cylindrical glass (25 cm height, 12 cm in diameter) containing a column of 17 cm of water at 25±1°C. After 30 min (For the injection route) or 2 weeks (For the oral route) of the Rose oil and Geranium oil administrations, the mice were subjected to forced swimming test for 8 min. Findings: Acute subcutaneous (SC) injection or chronic oral administration of Rose oil and Geranium oil significantly decreased the immobility time in the mouse forced swim test. The Geranium oil response was biphasic. Pre-treatment of animals with amphetamine and nortryptiline also reduced the immobility time. The inhibitory effects elicited by Rose oil, Geranium oil and amphetamine but not nortryptiline were antagonized by reserpine. Conclusion: The results suggest that the anti-depressant activities of Rose oil and Geranium oil may be mediated through a pre-synaptic mechanism