Study of anxiolytic effect of herbal extract of Origanum majorana L. incomparison with diazepam in rat

Nowdays, in spite of all scientific advances in medicine and pharmacology and increasing production of chemical drugs, traditional medicine as well as the name of medicinal species is more important and remarkable. Origanum majorana in Iranian traditional medicine has been introduced as an anti-stress and tranquilizer agent. The present study was performed to compare the anti-stress effect of this herb on male rat with diazepam. Different groups of male wistar rats with the same age and weight, received Origanum majorana extract with doses of (100, 200, 400 mg/kg, ip) per kg of body weight, and 1.2 mg/kg diazepam per kg of body weight and dimethyl sulphoxide with an equal volume. The injection was intraperitoneall, 30 minutes before assessing the effects of sedation and antianxiety by using an elevated plus maze. Results showed a significant increase in induced sleep time with ketamine and time spent on the open arms of the patient in the group with doses of 200, 400 mg/kg Origanum majorana extract (p ≤ 0.01). In addition, it was found that Origanum majorana extract with a dose of 200 mg/kg per kg of body weight was significant compared to diazepam at a dose of 1.2 mg/kg and had sedation and antianxiolytic effects.