Abstract

Background: Anxiety is a common human mental disorder. Medicinal therapy of this disease is associated with many side- effects. Thus, search for new medication with fewer side-effects seems inevitable. Bee pollen (often referred to as a life-giving dust) has various therapeutic properties. Aims and Objectives: In this study, potential anxiolytic effects of hydroalcoholic extract of bee pollen was examined in mice.
Materials and Methods: This study was conducted on 20-25 g male mice in three groups of eight. Animals received intraperitoneal injections of hydroalcoholic extract of bee pollen at 200, 400, 800, and 1600 mg/kg doses, diazepam at 1 mg/kg dose, and saline at 10 ml/kg dose. 30 min after injection, animals were studied in elevated plus maze device for 5 min.
Results: The results obtained showed significantly longer presence in open arms of elevated plus maze device of animals that received 800 and 1600 mg/kg doses of hydroalcoholic extract of bee pollen compared to animals that received diazepam. However, no significant difference was observed between 1600 and 800 mg/ kg doses. Conclusion: The above results confirmed anxiolytic effect of hydroalcoholic extract of bee pollen on mice.