The present study examined the anxiolytic and antidepressant effects of the aqueous extract of Alafia multiflora Stapf (AM) stem barks (150 and 300？mg/kg, 7 days administration) on rats and mice, using experimental paradigms of anxiety and depression. In the open field, the aqueous extract increased significantly the number of center square crossed and the time spent at the center of the field as well as the rearing time, while the grooming time was reduced significantly. In the elevated plus maze, the aqueous extract increased the time spent and the number of entries in the open arms. All these effects were also completely reversed by flumazenil, an antagonist of benzodiazepine receptors and pindolol a β-adrenoceptors blocker/5-HT 1A/1B receptor antagonist. The time spent in the light compartment, the latency time, and the number of the light-dark transitions increased significantly in the light/dark exploration test after the treatment with AM. The extract was able to reduce significantly the immobility time and increase swimming as well as climbing duration. Taken together, the present work evidenced anxiolytic effects of the aqueous extract of AM that might involve an action on benzodiazepine-type receptors and an antidepressant effect where noradrenergic mechanisms will probably play a role. 1. Introduction Anxiety and depressive disorders are frequent psychiatric conditions identified as the most common stress-related mood disorders causing disability and premature death. More than 20% of the adult population suffer from these conditions at some time during their life [1]. The World Health Organization envisaged that depression will become the second leading cause of premature death or disability worldwide by the year 2020 [2]. The complexity of daily life in modern society leads to various degrees of anxiety and depression. Mood, depression, and anxiety disorders have been found to be associated with chronic pain among medical patients in both developed and developing countries [3]. For many years, they were considered as two different mental diseases, with the benzodiazepines used as the drugs of choice for acute anxiety states and the amine uptake inhibitors and monoamine oxidase inhibitors to treat depression. However, in the clinical practices of the treatment of anxiety disorders, benzodiazepines are now slowly replaced by antidepressants, which are not only efficacious in depression but also in the acute and chronic treatment anxiety disorders [1]. The GABAergic system and the serotoninergic neurotransmission are involved in anxiety. In
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