Ethnopharmacology of Q'eqchi' Maya antiepileptic and anxiolytic plants: effects on the GABAergic system.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: The Q'eqchi' Maya possess a large selection of plants to treat neurological disorders, including epilepsy and susto (fright), a culture-bound illness related to anxiety disorders.

Aim Of The Study: To investigate the activity of antiepileptic and anxiolytic plants in the GABAergic system, and determine if there is a pharmacological basis for plant selection.

Materials And Methods: Ethanol extracts of 34 plants were tested in vitro for their ability to inhibit GABA-transaminase (GABA-T) or bind to the GABA(A)-benzodiazepine (BZD) receptor, two principal drug targets in epilepsy and anxiety.

Ethnopharmacological investigation of plants used to treat susto, a folk illness.

Selected plants used to treat susto, a folk illness recognized by various groups of Latin America, were screened for anxiolytic and/or fear suppression activity in behavioral assays. We found that the plant used by most of the healers interviewed (Adiantum tetraphyllum Humb. & Bonpl.