Anxiolytic property

Anxiety disorders are marked by excessive fear, often in response to specific objects or situations and in the absence of true danger and they are extremely common in the general population. According to a recent epidemiological study, the lifetime prevalence of any anxiety disorder is 28.8%. Anxiety disorders are associated with impaired workplace performance and hefty economic costs. The clinical applications of benzodiazepines as anxiolytic are limited by their side effects. The aim of the present study is to investigate the effects of aqueous and ethanolic extracts of Solanum Nigrum leaves.  Elevated plus maze test, light/dark test used. In the elevated plus maze, aqueous and ethanolic extracts (400mg/kg; p.o) showed an anxiolytic effect by increasing the percentage of time spent in open arms and the percentage of open arm entries as compared to control group.. In the light/dark transition test, aqueous extracts (400mg/kg; p.o) had increased the time spent in light area, latency to enter dark chamber and tunnel crossing. Whereas, ethanolic extract of (400mg/kg; p.o) has showed significant result. These results suggested that the extracts of Solanum Nigrum leaves possessed anxiolytic effect in mice, in contrast to diazepam, had no inhibitory effect on locomotion in these tests, its side effect profile might be superior to the benzodiazepines.