Antianxiety Activity Evaluation of Hibiscus Sabdariffa Linn. Calyces

Abstract

Background: Anxiety is one of the most commonly prevailing psychiatric and behavioural disorders. Evolutionarily, it is regarded as a healthy emotion or behavioural repertoire, which is the outcome of a stressful situation, thereby, helping an individual to cope with a possible risk or a novel situation by increasing awareness and responsiveness. Benzodiazepines, barbiturates, SRIs etc., are used as first line drugs for the management of anxiety, but due to myriad of adverse effects associated with these conventional drugs, inclination of patients towards complementary and alternative medicines (CAMs) has tremendously risen. CAM interventions mainly include herbal remedies.Different parts of Hibiscus sabdariffa have been used traditionally for treating several ailments including mental disorders. Purpose: Keeping in mind the traditional use of H. sabdariffacalyces,the present study was designed to evaluate their antianxiety potential. Methods: Petroleum ether (60-80°C), chloroform, ethanol, and water extracts were prepared using successive Soxhlet extraction and evaluated using elevated plus-maze model. Results: Among all the extracts, ethanol extract showed significant antianxiety activity at a dose of 400 mg/kg. Conclusion: Thus, the study establishes antianxiety activity of H. sabdariffa calyces and also validates their traditional use.