Evaluation of Anxiolytic Activity of Sesamol in Swiss Albino Mice

In the present study, effects of increasing doses of sesamol (25, 50 and 100mg/kg) on anxiety were investigated in adult Swiss albino mice using elevated plus-maze, light/dark box, open field and hole board  tests as animal models compared with the effects of the standard anxiolytic diazepam (1.0 mg/kg) and vehicle, which were administered intraperitoneally. Sesamol was found to significantly increase the time spent and number of entries in open arm when compared to closed arm in elevated plus maze apparatus. In light/ dark box model, time spent in light box and number of crossings between compartments increased significantly. In open field test, significant increase in number of rearing, assisted rearing and number of square crossed were observed. It was also observed that sesamol significantly increased the number of head dips in hole board test. These results infer that, sesamol having anxiolytic activity in a dose-dependent manner.