Neuropharmacological Evaluation of Methanolic Extract from Mercurialis Annua a Plant used in Morocca

Anxiety is considered a common emotional phenomenon in the human population, occurring in response to physiological and/or environmental factors. When anxiety becomes excessive, it may be considered as an anxiety disorder, and can critically decrease the quality of life inducing several psychosomatic diseases. Benzodiazepines are the major class of compounds used in anxiety and they have remained the most commonly prescribed treatment for anxiety . Benzodiazepines can lead to disturbing effects, such as amnesia, dependence liability, and sedation . Therefore, the development of other anxiolytic drugs without such adverse effects is important for the treatment of anxiety disorders. Several traditionally used plants exhibit pharmacological properties with great potential for therapeutic applications in the treatment of central nervous system disorders, such as anxiety disorders . In folk medicine, some species belonging to the family Euphorbiaceae, such as Mercurialis annua, is known to possess anxiolytic action . Mercurialis annua L. (Euphorbiaceae) is a wind-pollinated annual plant that occupies ruderal and roadside habitats throughout central and western Europe and around the Mediterranean Basin . The species is a winter annual in the Mediterranean region, and has long been known to have tranquillizing effects among the Moroccan people.

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