Saponins: the phytochemical with an emerging potential for curing clinical depression

Depression is on the rise globally and expected to lead in global burden of diseases by 2030. The current therapy has serious limitations in terms of safety, efficacy, tolerability and therapeutic success. This review, based on the literature of the last decade, is aimed at exploring the preclinical profile of plant-based saponins (the abundant secondary metabolite) as an emerging therapy for depression. Enough scientific evidences reflect that saponins promote neurogenesis, restore monoaminergic tone and enhance neurotrophic factors. In multiple stress models, they have exhibited adaptogenic effects via normalising hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis, corticosterone levels and oxidative stress. Scientific data revealed neuroprotective effect of saponins by inhibiting apoptosis and intraneuronal calcium dynamics. Many plants possessing saponins as their principal antidepressant moiety need investigation at clinical level. Last decade literature revealed numerous preclinical reports supporting the role of saponins as natural cure for depression and justified their inclusion in antidepressant drug discovery programs.