anxiolytic-like effect of methanol leaf extract of laggera aurita linn. f. (asteraceae) in mice

background: laggera aurita belongs to the asteraceae family; it is an annual herb found growing as weeds in sub-saharan africa, including nigeria. in nigeria, laggera aurita is used as a remedy for paediatric malaria and in the management of epilepsy. previous studies on extracts of this plant suggested its anticonvulsant activity via gaba-mediated neurotransmission. therefore, this study aimed at evaluating anxiolytic-like effect of the plant extract. methods: anxiolytic potential of the methanol leaf extract of laggera aurita was evaluated using staircase, elevated plus maze, hole board, open field, beam walking assay, and diazepam-induced sleep tests. results: the extract significantly (p 0.05) decreased the number of rearing in the staircase test at 600 and 300 mg/kg. in the elevated plus maze test, there was a significant (p 0.05 at 600 and 300 mg/kg) increase in the totalnumberof openarmentries and total time spent in the open arms (600 mg/kg). in the hole board test, the extract significantly (p 0.05 at 600mg/kg) decreased the number of head dips. using the open field test, the axiolytic activity of the extract was further reflected by the significant (p 0.05) decrease in the number of rearing (150, 300, and 600 mg/kg). the effect of the extract on beam walking assay showed a significant (p 0.05) increase (600 mg/kg) in number of foot slips and time spent on beam. the extract (600 mg/kg) significantly (p 0.05) increased the duration of sleep induced by diazepam. conclusions: the results of this study revealed that the leaf extract of laggera aurita possesses anxiolytic-like properties.