Ethnopharmacological approaches in mood and anxiety disorders. The relevance of the oxidative stress status.

Neurodegenerative diseases and psychiatric disorders are one of the most important pathologies that lead to increased morbidity in populations. Both mood and anxiety disorders include mental disorders not caused by detectable organic abnormalities of the brain. At the molecular level, affective spectrum symptomatology is due to neurotransmitter dysregulation including receptor or transporter impairments and also due to faulty intracellular signaling that generally leads to impaired neurotransmission. Also, recent studies have shown the relationship between oxidative stress and the development of affective disorders. Since classical medication can cause major side effects and alternative approaches tend to be more and more trusted, it seems that plant extracts-based complementary therapies may offer superior yielding and safety compared to traditional medication.