Phytotherapy for anxiety in Iran: A review of the most important Anti-Anxiety medicinal plants

Background: Anxiety refers to an unpleasant feeling with vague fear with no definite content, and includes uncertainty, inability, and physiological arousal. Anxiety can be a debilitating factor for many daily activities, and may even cause adverse physiological effects on normal functions of the body. Several chemical drugs are used to treat anxiety disorders. However, most of these drugs are associated with several side effects and if they are discontinued, relapse of disorders is likely. Because many of the medicinal plants play a role in treating anxiety and many other diseases, and are used abundantly in traditional medicine, the aim of this review article is to report the native medicinal plants of Iran that are used to treat anxiety. Methods: In this work, the keywords, anxiety, medicinal plants, extract, essential oil, and Iran were searched for in some databases such as Google Scholar and Scientific Information Database to retrieve and analyze relevant articles. Results: According to the findings, Lavandula stricta Del, Pimpinella anisum, Achillea millefolium, citrus species, Trigonella foenum-graecum, Cassia fistula, Passiflora incarnate, and Rosa damascene were the most important native medicinal plants of Iran with anti-Anxiety property