Screening for Secondary Metabolites and Anxiolytic Effect of Passiflora foetida

From the ancient time, plant medicine is considered an important part of healthcare system because of its relative accessibility, low cost, easy availability and acceptance by local communities. A variety of plants are employed in traditional medicine to treat nervous disorder, one among the genera is Passiflora. The objective of the present investigation was to screen the availability of secondary metabolites in methanolic extract of Passiflora foetida and to check its potential for the anti-anxiety activity using Elevated plus Maze (EPM) animal model. The crude extractshowed the presence of Alkaloids, Coumarins, Flavonoids, Glycosides, Oils and fats, Phenols, Resin, Sterols, Steroids and Saponins, Tannins and Quinones which then subjected to anxiolytic activity at the doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg, per oralin mice and its efficacy was statistically compared with the standard anxiolytic drug, diazepam (3 mg/kg, Intraperitoneal). As a result, the extract increased the number of entries as well as the time spent in open arm as a dose dependent manner and proved to be statistically significant. These results provide support for the use of Passiflora foetida as traditional medicine for its Anxiolytic property.