Effects of Stachys tibetica essential oil in anxiety

Ethnopharmacological relevanceStachys tibetica (Lamiaceae) is an important medicinal plant in the folk medicine of Ladakh, India and Tibet for the treatment of various mental disorders.Aim of the studyPresent study is aimed to characterize the essential oil of S. tibetica and its anxiolytic properties.Materials and methodsThe oil was extracted from the plant by hydrodistillation method. The isolated oil (0.7%) was subjected to GC-MS for identification of its constituents and evaluated for anxiolytic effects by employing the social interaction, hole-board, elevated plus maze and light/dark arena tests in rats.ResultsGC-MS of S. tibetica essential oil (SEO) indicated the presence of 33 constituents. Aciphyllene (66.415%), fenchyl alcohol (8.897%), α-pinene (8.188%), caryophyllene oxide (4.648%), menthol (1.69%) and geraniol (1.315%) are the major constituents of SEO. All the anxiolytic studies were conducted at doses of 25 and 50 mg/kg body weight. In the social interaction test, SEO decreased aggressive behaviors of the animals (albino rats) while the same significantly increased social interaction time of the high light, familiar as well as unfamiliar test conditions. In the hole-board test, SEO significantly increased head-dipping counts and its duration. The SEO significantly increased number of entries and time spent in open arms on the elevated plus maze test while as in the light/dark arena test, SEO showed an increase in number of crossings and time spent in light arena.ConclusionResults indicate that SEO has a wide range of anxiolytic properties and pave a way for new drug search for anxiety.