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Abstract
Anxiolytic Effects of Some Herbal Medicines: Evidence from Animal Studies and the
Possibility of Clinical Use in Humans
†
Oraphan Wanakhachornkrai*, Aree Wanasuntronwong , ‡
*Physiology unit, Department of Medical Science, Faculty of Science, Rangsit University, Pathumthani
12000, Thailand.
†
Department of Oral Biology, Faculty of Dentistry, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10400, Thailand.
‡
Corresponding author: aree.wan@mahidol.ac.th
Anxiety is a mental disorder which leads to the impairment of emotion and behavior. If the
symptoms occur for a long period of time, they could alter daily routines and reduce quality of
life. This article presents an overview of the clinical presentation of anxiety disorders, classical
medications and anxiolytic properties of some herbal medicines. In addition, the animal models
for the assessment of anxiety are also mentioned. This review focuses on four herbal medicines
that have been proved to possess anxiolytic effects in both preclinical and clinical studies inclu-
ding Piper methysticum (kava), Passiflora incarnata (passionflower), Hypericum perforatum (St.
John’s wort) and Centella asiatica (buabok). Nevertheless, consistent clinical outcome is expected
when those herbal medicines are to be used clinically. Thus, it is necessary to standardize all of
these herbal medicines to ensure that clinical equivalence could be obtained, and to establish
their acceptability as alternative medicines.

Key words: anxiolytic effects, anxiety disorder, Piper methysticum (kava), Passiflora incarnata
(passionflower), Hypericum perforatum (St. John’s wort), Centella asiatica (buabok)