7th Call - Dr. Kennedy K.E. Kukula
Project Title: Screening Trichilia monadelpha, a Ghanaian Herb for Antidepressant Effect
Principal Investigator: Dr. Kennedy K.E. Kukuia Department of Pharmacology UGMS, University of Ghana)
Email Address: kkekukuia@ug.edu.gh
Award Amount: GHC 4,977.00
Project Status: On-going
Summary:
Depression is an extremely common pathological complex with psychological, neuroendocrine and pathological symptoms (Holmes, 2003). It is a leading cause of disability worldwide and has a very significant impact on morbidity, mortality and health care cost (Alonso et al., 2004; Ustun et al., 2004; Gilmour and Patten, 2007). More than 120 million people suffer from depression globally. In fact, depression is no respecter of person- it affects men and women alike; young and old; rich and poor; educated and uneducated. Unfortunately the efficacy of current antidepressants are unsatisfactory and multiple side effects are common (Poleszak et al., 2011). It is estimated that about 40% of patients have conditions refractory to current medications. Furthermore, these drugs require at least 2-4 weeks of administration before producing clinically meaningful improvement in the symptoms (Skolnick et al.,2009). Medicinal plants since time immemorial have played crucial roles in the health care of man. They serve as important repository for compounds with potent and efficacious therapeutic effect. Vincristine, taxol, morphine, artemisinine, etc. are just about some few compounds that were isolated from plant are used currently. It is estimated that about 8 out of every 10 Ghanaian depends on herbal remedies for primary health care especially in the management of psychiatric conditions like depression, anxiety and psychosis. It is therefore not out of place to screen Ghanaian medicinal plants for their therapeutic potentials. This will ensure that bioactive compounds are isolated and investigated for possible use in man. The current proposal seeks to explore the usefulness of Trichilia monadelpha in the management of depression using established animal models of depression. This work will provide a solid basis for the isolation of new chemical entities with more rapid, efficacious and safer antidepressant effect.