Ferula asafoetida is herbaceous plant of the umbelliferae family. It is oleo gum resin obtained from the rhizome and root of plant. This spice is used as a digestive aid, in food as a condiment and in pickles. It is used in modern herbalism in the treatment of hysteria, some nervous conditions, bronchitis, asthma and whooping cough. It was at one time employed in the treatment of infantile pneumonia and flatulent colic. The gum resin is antispasmodic, carminative, expectorant, laxative, and sedative. The volatile oil in the gum is eliminated through the lungs, making this an excellent treatment for asthma. The odor of asafoetida is imparted to the breath, secretions, flatus, and gastric eructations. Its properties are antispasmodic, expectorant, stimulant, emmenagogue and vermifuge. Asafoetida has also been used as a sedative. It also thins the blood and lowers blood pressure. It is widely used in India in food and as a medicine in Indian systems of medicine like ayurveda. Asafoetida has been held in great esteem among indigenous medicines, particularly in Unani system from the earliest times.

Interest in alternative medicine and plant-derived medications that affect the “mind” is growing. The aim of present study was to explore the anti-anxiety activity of hydroalcoholic extract of Coriandrum sativum (Linn.) using different animal models (elevated plus maze, open field test, light and dark test and social interaction test) of anxiety in mice. Diazepam (0.5 mg/kg) was used as the standard and dose of hydroalcoholic extract of C. sativum fruit (50, 100 and 200 mg/kg) was selected as per OECD guidelines. Results suggested that extract of C. sativum at 100 and 200 mg/kg dose produced anti-anxiety effects almost similar to diazepam, and at 50 mg/kg dose did not produce anti-anxiety activity on any of the paradigm used. Further studies are needed to identify the anxiolytic mechanism(s) and the phytoconstituents responsible for the observed central effects of the hydroalcoholic extract of C. sativum.

No abstract