Project Team
Students
Shrina Patel
Biology
Penn State Harrisburg
Faculty Mentors
Shobha Potlakayala
Penn State Harrisburg
Department of Biology and Science
Yuval Silberman
Penn State College of Medicine
Department of Neural and Behavioral Sciences
Sairam Rudrabhatla
Penn State Harrisburg
Department of Biology and Science
Project
Project Video
Project Abstract
Anxiety is a psychological and physiological state characterized by somatic, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral disturbances. It is one of the most common psychological disorders that affects 10-30% of the population. Of the current medications available for the treatment of anxiety, antidepressants and benzodiazepines are the common options. However, there are limitations associated with current medications due to lack of efficacy, side effects, or risk of abuse and dependence and medicinal plants may offer an alternative.
Mucuna pruriens has beneficial effects on the health and functioning of the human body and is widely used as a medicinal plant. M. pruriens endocarp (MPE) extracts have been shown to have antioxidant, anti-parkinsonian, antitumor, antidepressant, and neuroprotective activities. Limited research has indicated the potential of MPE to have anxiolytic activity. However, further investigation is needed to test the efficacy of this plant as a possible alternative treatment. The project is aimed at looking at the effect of seed extractions of MPE on mice. The water extracts of MPE will be fed to mice through daily water intake on a short and long term followed by neurobehavioral studies to assess its anti-anxiety potential. Results from forced swim stress and light-dark box tests are expected to show that the mice that are not treated with MPE would display higher anxiety-like behavior in the light-dark box than mice treated with MPE.
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