Assessment of Anxiolytic Activity of Nuts of Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Almond) in Mice

Abstract

The incidence of anxiety in the community is very high and is associated with lot of morbidity. The most widely prescribed medications for anxiety disorders are the benzodiazepines in which there use are limited by their side effects, hence many herbs employed in traditional and alternate medicine for sleep disorders and related diseases. The nuts of Prunus amygdalus (almond ) are found to possess anti-stress properties, also is an effective health building food, both for the body and the mind. Anxiolytic activity of of Prunus amygdalus dulcis were studied using open-field tests in mice. The efficacy of two doses of Prunus amygdalus dulcis 800 and 1600 mg/kg was compared with standard anxiolytic drug the diazepam (1mg/kg). Both the diazepam and almond (1600 mg/kg) treated groups in this study showed extremely significant increased (p<0.001) in both the number of rearing against the wall and the time spend in central squares with significant increase in the number of crossed squares (p<0.01) and (p<0.05) respectively. The number of grooming was extremely significant decreased (p<0.001) while the duration of grooming showed no significant difference (p>0.05) in compare to the control group. The group that given 800mg/kg of almond showed highly significant decrease (p<0.01) in the number of grooming while the duration of grooming was extremely significant increased (p<0.001) with no significant difference (p>0.05) in the number of rearing against the wall, the time spend in central squares and the number of squares crossed in compare to the control group. These findings suggest that Prunus amygdalus dulcis in a dose 1600 mg/kg possess anxiolytic-like properties equal to that of diazepam while 800mg/kg Prunus amygdalus dulcis has less effect .