Anxiolytic and Explorative Potentials of the Methanol Leaf Extract of Vernonia Amygdalina in Male Wistar Rats

Anxiety is an unpleasant state of inner turmoil which causes nervous behavior like fear, apprehension and worries. Vernonia amygdalina commonly called bitter leaf, belongs to the family Astaraceae, and has been reported to be used locally in the management of psychiatric disorders. However, no work has been reported on pharmacological potentials of Vernonia amygdalina on anxiety in male rats. This study was therefore designed to investigate the effect of Vernonia amygdalina (VA) on anxiety status in male rats. The air-dried leaves of Vernonia amygdalina (VA) pulverized and macerated in methanol for 72 hours. The methanol was filtered with cotton wool and filter paper and concentrated using rotary evaporator at 40oC and further concentrated in a vacuum oven at temperature of 40oC and pressure of 600mmHg. The anxiolytic-like effect of VA was investigated using the Open Field Test (OPF), Hole-board apparatus and Y-maze apparatus. The results obtained were expressed as mean ± S.E.M. Data were analyzed using Oneway Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), followed by Newman– Keuls’ multiple comparisons test P<0.05. Vernonia amygdalina showed anxiolytic-like effect in rat, 50 mg/kg were significantly different from control in open field test, hole board test. In conclusion, this study has shown that methanol extract Vernonia amygdalina possess anxiolytic-like effects in male rats.