Trop J Nat Prod Res, November 2017; 1(5):223-226 223 Erigbali et al., 2017 Tropical Journal of Natural Product Research Available online at https://www.tjnpr.org Fear and Anxiety Behaviour In Mice Was Attenuated Following Chronic Consumption of Musa paradisiaca L. (Musaceae) Peter Erigbali 1 *, Eme Osim 2 , Ofem Ofem 2 1 Department of Physiology, Niger Delta University, Amassoma, Bayelsa State, Nigeria 2 Department of Physiology, University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria Introduction Human behaviour is believed to be influenced by the endocrine and nervous systems, and the complexity in the behaviour of an organism is correlated to the complexity of its nervous system. Thus, organisms with more complex nervous systems, like humans have a greater capacity to learn new responses and adjust their behaviour. This behaviour is influenced by physical and psychological changes that result from a complex state of feeling described as emotion. 1,2 Meanwhile, paucity of connections between the limbic system (the part of the brain that controls our emotion) and neocortex (the part of the brain whose activity can modify emotional behaviour) as well as the prolonged after discharge of the limbic system after stimulation have made it physiologically difficult to bring our emotions under control. Many people have explored various methods such as music, yoga, exercise and religion all of which are believed to affect emotional state in one way or the other. According to one study, some music cause positive emotion like happiness, some cause negative emotion like sadness and fear, but loud music could cause deafness. Others in the quest to ensure a healthy emotional state have resorted to consumption of alcohol and hard drugs and these have their attendant demerits. Alcohol is the most popular anti- *Corresponding author. E mail: perigbali@yahoo.com Tel: +2348033258343 Citation: Erigbali P, Osim E, Ofem O. Fear and Anxiety Behaviour In Mice Was Attenuated Following Chronic Consumption of Musa paradisiaca. Trop J Nat Prod Res. 2017; 1(5):223-226. doi.org/10.26538/tjnpr/v1i5.10 © 2017 Natural Product Research Group, University of Benin. All rights reserved. depressant drug used by mankind. It also decreases anxiety and boosts confidence. But it has several side effects. For instance, alcohol affects the limbic system; the person is subject to exaggerated states of emotion (anger, aggressiveness, withdrawal and memory loss). Drugs target the limbic system to induce positive emotion, by acting in the nucleus acumbens and the reward areas of the limbic system, but they block a few of the negative emotions which act as defences for the individual. 3, 4 Emerging research evidence from exploration of dietary consumables are suggesting correlation between choice of diet and emotion or other neurobehaviour. It has been reported that a staggering 20.9 million Americans suffer from mood disorders that may be linked to dietary choices. 5 Some researchers are already exploring the effect of poor diet on the mind; while others are searching for straightforward answers to emotional woes. For instance, less occurrence of depression in a research population that consumed Omega-3 fat and alteration of brain chemistry, leading to more balanced, clear and joyful mental states associated with a varied, nutrient dense diet have been reported. 5, 6 Musa paradisiaca, commonly called plantain is one of the over forty species of the genus musa. This food crop is generally eaten cooked, fried, roasted ripe or unripe in contrast to the soft, sweet banana, which is of the same genus but eaten raw when ripe. Plantain is affordable and readily available all year round in areas where it is cultivated. In equatorial Africa, Andean regions and many countries of the world, it is a staple diet. Plantain is rich in carbohydrates and fiber but lacks cholesterol. It contains vitamins A, B6, C and minerals; potassium, magnesium among others. 7,8 Besides the nutritional constituent, plantain contains some neurotransmitters, notably serotonin and its precursor, 5- Hydroxytryptophan that can affect emotion/mood. 9 It is known that the medical management of emotional disorders is a cumbersome process that involves the use of expensive antipsychotic drugs, many of which when ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Article history: Received 08 October 2017 Revised 24 October 2017 Accepted 27 October 2017 Published online 05 November 2017 Emotions are delicate phenomenon that can affect the whole livelihood, yet to control them physiologically is quite difficult perhaps owing to the paucity in connections between limbic system and neocortex. Many people have devised ways such as consumption of alcohol and hard drugs, to help them control their emotions. Research findings have shown the link between diet and some emotions/neurobehaviour. We investigated the effect of consumption of unripe plantain on fear and anxiety behaviour. Three groups of mice were fed with diet containing 100%, 50% and 0% (control) unripe plantain. Fear and anxiety behaviour was studied using the Light/Dark Transition Box and Elevated Plus Maze tests. The transitions in the light/dark chambers was not significantly (p > 0.05) different among the groups. The light chamber duration of the 100% and 50% plantain diet groups was significantly (p < 0.05) higher than control. Stretch attend postures were lower in 100% and 50% plantain diet groups compared to control. In the Elevated Plus Maze test, frequencies of open arm entry for the 100% and 50% plantain groups were significantly (p < 0.05) higher than control. The difference in open arm entries between 100% and 50% plantain diet groups was significant. The results suggest that consumption of plantain diet reduced fear and anxiety behaviour in mice. A preliminary investigation of the concentration of serotonin in the brains of the mice using High Performance Liquid Chromatography shows that serotonin is significantly (p < 0.001) higher in the 100% plantain diet group than control. Keywords: Plantain, Serotonin, 5-Hydroxytryptophan, Fear, Anxiety. Copyright: © 2017 Erigbali et al. This is an open- access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.