Journal of Pharmacy Research Vol.5 Issue 3.March 2012 Balbir Singh et al. / Journal of Pharmacy Research 2012,5(3),1483-1486 1483-1486 Research Article ISSN: 0974-6943 Available online through http://jprsolutions.info * Corresponding author. Balbir Singh Department of pharmaceutical Sciences, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, 143005, India Antianxiety Investigations of Centaurea behen Linn. and Elaeocarpus ganitrus Roxb. Balbir Singh* a , Anupam Sharma b and MPS Ishar a a Department of pharmaceutical Sciences,Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, 143005, India b University Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences,Panjab University, Chandigarh -160014, India. Received on:10-12-2011; Revised on: 15-01-2012; Accepted on:12-02-2012 ABSTRACT The petroleum ether (PE), chloroform (CE), ethanol (EE) and water extractives (WE) of Centaurea behen and Elaeocarpus ganitrus were prepared and evaluated for antianxiety activity in mice using elevated plus maize model. The results were compared with standard drug, diazepam. The ethanol extractive of C. behen ( 200 mg/kg) and chloroform and ethanol extractives of E. ganitrus ( 200 and 400 mg/kg) significantly increased the time spent and percentage of the open arm entries in the elevated plus maize model and hence exhibited antianxiety activity, which was comparable to diazepam. Chemically the extracts of both the plants showed the presence of phytosterols, fats, alkaloids, flavonoids, carbohydrates, proteins and tannins. The anxiolytic effects of the ethanol extractive of C. behen and chloroform and ethanol extractives of E. ganitrus may be related to their alkaloidal and flavonoid content. The results indicate that both the plants can be considered as potential candidate for bioactivity guided isolation of natural antianxiety agents. Key words: Antianxiety, Centaurea behen, Safed behman, Elaeocarpus ganitrus, Rudraksh, INTRODUCTION Anxiety is a feeling of apprehension, worry, or uneasiness that may or may not be based on reality. Anxiety may be seen in many types of situations, ranging from the anxiety that may accompany one’s employment to the acute anxiety that may be seen during withdrawal from alcohol. Although a certain amount of anxiety is normal, excess anxiety interferes with day-to- day functioning and can cause undue stress 1 . Anxiety affects one-eighth of the total population worldwide and has become an important area of re- search in psychopharmacology during this decade 2 . Benzodiazepines, bar- biturates, alcohol and tricyclic antidepressants (TCA’s) have been used for long time to treat anxiety disorders 3-4 . However, the clinical uses of these drugs are limited because of the serious side effects associated with these drugs, namely rebound insomnia, sedation, muscle relaxation, withdrawal and tolerance, sexual dysfunction, anticholinergic and antihistamic effects 3 . The use of herbal medications by physicians in Europe and Asia is becom- ing very common and researchers are exploring the traditional remedies to find a suitable cure for these mind affecting diseases 5 . Cetaurea behen Linn. (Family Asteraceae, Compositae) is commonly known as safed behmen in Hindi 6 . It is native to Iran and also occurs in India, Pakistan, Europe, North Africa 6 and Israel 7 . It is an annual or perennial herb. It is used as Aphrodisiac, antiflatulent, cardiotonic, sedative, emme- nagogue, in jaundice, kidney stone and anti-inflammatory 8 . Elaeocarpus ganitrus ROXB. (Syn. E. sphaericus (Gaertn); family Elaeocarpaceae), is popular for its attractive fruit stones. Its beads are covered by an outer shell of blue color on fully ripening; hence also called blueberry beads 9 . It finds a prominent place in Hindu religion and Ayurveda, the ancient Indian system of medicine. In Hindi it is known as Rudraksha 10 . The flesh or pulp of drupe is given in epilepsy, and in mental illness 11 . Besides it is reported to exhibit multifarious pharmacological activities i.e., anti-inflammatory 12 , analgesic, sedative 13 , antiulcerogenic, antidepressant 14 , antiasthmatic 15 , hypoglycemic 11 , antihypertensive 16-18 , smooth muscle re- laxant, hydrocholeretic 19 , anticonvulsant 20 , etc. Despite the widespread traditional uses of C. behen and E. ganitrus there are no reports of scientific evaluation of their antianxiety activity, therefore the present study has been undertaken to explore anxiolytic potential of the above plants. MATERIAL AND METHODS Plant material: Dried roots of C. behen and dried fruits (beads) of E. ganitrus were pro- cured from a cultivated source, Hind Herb Store, Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India, in the month of September. Identity of both the drugs was confirmed through Plant Anatomy Research Centre, Medicinal Plant Research Unit, Chennai. Voucher specimen no. PARC/2008/166 and PARC/2008/164 has been deposited in the herbarium of the same institute. Animals: The experimental animals [Swiss albino mice (laca strain, 20-25 g) of either sex] were procured from the Central Research Institute, Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh. The animals received a standard pelleted diet and water ad libitum, were maintained under standard environmental conditions (25±5 0 C with 12hr of light/dark cycle). The experimental protocol was approved by In- stitutional animal ethical committee and experiments were conducted ac- cording to CPCSEA, India guidelines on the use and care of experimental animals. Chemicals: Solvents viz., petroleum ether (60-80 0 Merck), chloroform (Merck) and ethanol, All of LR grade were employed for the extraction of plant material. Diazepam was procured from Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited Mumbai. Preparation of extracts and doses: Coarsely powdered dried roots of C. behen and dried fruits of E. ganitrus were successively extracted with petroleum ether, chloroform and ethanol for 48 hours each using soxhlet apparatus and finally boiled with distilled water for 6 hours. The extracts were filtered, concentrated in vacuo and dried in an oven at 40-50ºC. After removal of solvents under vacuo from various extracts, the dried extractives were preserved in vacuum dessicator. Phytochemical screening of various extracts of C. behen roots and E. ganitrus beads viz petroleum ether, chloroform, ethanol and water was carried out using standard procedures (Evans 1996a; Farnsworth 1966; Evans 1996b; 1996c; Khandelwal 2004) 21-25 . All the extractives of both the plants were suspended in carboxy methylcellulose for preparation of suspensions of various test doses. Animals were divided into 12 groups of 5 animals each and given following treatments- Group I: vehicle treated animals served as control; Group II: animals received diazepam (2 mg/kg) Group III-XII: were treated with different extractives of both the plants at doses of 50,