ANXIOLYTIC ACTIVITY OF ALCOHOLIC EXTRACT OF MATRICARIA CHAMOMILLA FLOWERS IN MICE

Matricaria chamomilla (family Asteraceae) is a well-known medicinal herb traditionally valued for its calming and anxiety-relieving properties, attributed to bioactive constituents such as flavonoids, terpenoids and apigenin present in its flowers. The present study evaluated the anxiolytic potential of an alcoholic extract of the flowers of this plant in mice. The extract was prepared by hot continuous (Soxhlet) extraction of the dried flowers with ethanol. Acute oral toxicity, assessed up to a limit dose of 2000 mg per kilogram body weight, produced no mortality or abnormal behaviour, and two doses (100 and 400 mg per kilogram, orally) were accordingly selected for the pharmacological study, with diazepam (2 mg per kilogram) used as the reference standard. Anxiolytic activity was assessed using the staircase test and the elevated plus maze test in mice after seven days of treatment. In the staircase test, both doses of the extract significantly increased the number of steps climbed compared with control. In the elevated plus maze, the extract produced a significant increase in the number of entries into, and time spent in, the open arms, with a corresponding decrease in the closed-arm parameters, comparable to diazepam. Preliminary phytochemical screening of the extract indicated the presence of carbohydrates, flavonoids and saponins. These findings suggest that the alcoholic flower extract of Matricaria chamomilla possesses significant anxiolytic activity in mice, supporting its traditional use as a calming agent.