Indonesian Indonesian Medicine Plants for Mental Health Disorders: Anxiety and Depression

Abstract

Mental health disorders are currently widely discussed, especially anxiety and depression. The number of people living with anxiety and depression disorders in 2020 increased significantly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These mental health disorders are quite serious and need to be addressed. Indonesian people for generations have used medicinal plants in everyday life, one of which is to treat symptoms of mental health disorders such as increasing mood and motivation, calming, overcoming depression, stress, anxiety, and sleep disorders. However, there has been no comprehensive review on the ethnopharmacology of Indonesian medicinal plants that can treat mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety and there is also little scientific evidence to support the efficacy of these plants. This paper reviews Indonesian medicinal plants used to treat mental health disorders and reviews the scientific evidence for these plants. We conduct literature studies of scientific articles, research journals, and books at national and international vessels. The search results identified 67 Indonesian medicinal plants used to treat symptoms of mental health disorders. The Zingiberaceae family is reported as the most medicinal plant that can potentially treat mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety. Several plants have been proven in preclinical research, but many still have not been studied and proven. Therefore, further research on Indonesian medicinal plants that can overcome mental health disorders must be carried out to provide knowledge and develop drugs for mental health disorders.