The comparison of the efficacy of Citrus Fragrance and Fluoxetine in the treatment of major depressive disorder

Major depressive disorder is a common psychiatric disorder. It causes major dysfunction for the patient. Traditional pharmacological agents for treatment of this disorder are SSRls, TCAs, MAOls, NSRls etc. some researching have shown the effectiveness of herbal medicine in the treatment of depression. Citrus Fragrance (the essence of orange) is one of herbal drugs, which has had some reports of stimulant and anti depressant effects. In this clinical trial study, the sample was 150 adult patients with the diagnosis of major depressive disorder based on DSM-IV. They were divided in three groups randomly. The first group received Fluoxetine 20 mg daily. The second group received Citrus Fragrance 10 drops tid from 2% concentrated solution and the third group received 20 drops tid from it. The patients were evaluated by clinical interview, Hamilton's depressive rating scale and Adverse effects inventory before treatments and 3 and 6 weeks after treatment. Data were analyzed by t-test and ANOVA through SPSS software. 74 patients remained in the treatment till the end of research (19 men and 55 women). The male/female ratio was equal in the three groups. Their average age was 2804 Y. The recovery rate based on Hamilton's scale after 6 weeks was 8.15 in the first group and 15.8 and 12 in the second and third group. The most effective regimen was 10 drops of Citrus Fragrance (P<0.05). The rate of adverse effects was similar in the groups (P>0.05). Citrus Fragrance has an effective antidepressant effect especially in the does of 10 drops tid. The severity of its adverse effect is similar with Fluoxetine.