Antioxidants have attracted immense interest of researchers because of their implied role in the protection of biological systems. Though all living organisms possess their own antioxidant defense systems, no one can disregard the importance of dietary or exogenous antioxidants as these have an important role in the prevention of a variety of diseases. Several studies have revealed that polyphenols play an important role in free radical scavenging and therefore produce various biological and pharmacological actions. Some evidence suggests that the biological actions of polyphenols are related...

Animal models are indispensable tools in the search to identify new antidepressant drugs and to provide insights into the neuropathology that underlies the idiopathic disease state of depression. Various paradigms have been developed and are instrumental in detecting the antidepressant-like potential of novel compounds in preclinical settings. The models commonly used are diverse and were developed originally based on the behavioral consequences of stress, drug, lesion or genetic manipulation. As new targets are developed, both serendipitous and through hypothesis-driven research, existing...