Investigating the effect of chamomile plant on the treatment of anxiety and depression; a briefreview

Introduction: Today, due to the many side effects of chemical drugs, herbal drugs have received more publicattention. Medicinal plants are used as one of the methods of complementary medicine all over the world.Chamomile plant is one of the plants that have effective compounds to prevent and treat depression and anxiety.Therefore, the present study was designed to review the effect of chamomile plant on the treatment of anxietyand depression.Methods: The present study is a summary review that was designed in ۲۰۲۳. Three databases, PubMed, GoogleScholar and ISI, were used to search for related articles. The selected keywords included "medicinal herbs","chamomile", "depression", "anxiety". The inclusion criteria included the availability of the full text of thearticles, and the exclusion criteria included the articles published in conferences or convention. At first, ۵۸articles were selected and after removing duplicate articles, ۳۷ articles were finally examined.Results: By examining various studies, it was found that chamomile contains compounds such as flavonoids,apigenin, luteolin and glucosides. Among them, phytoestrogen and apigenin flavonoids cause sedative and antianxietyeffects due to their high affinity for benzodiazepine receptors. And unlike diazepam, it does not causememory disorders, in addition, flavonoid compounds cause antidepressant effects by regulating the release ofcentral noradrenaline, dopamine, serotonin, and gamma-aminobutyric acid. Chamomile contains a compoundcalled quercetin that inhibits monoamine oxidase enzymes and thus increases the concentration ofcatecholamines in the synaptic space and is effective in reducing depression. This plant has no side effects andis used orally, tea and inhalation.Conclusion: Chamomile plant is one of the medicinal plants used in the treatment of depression and anxiety.Therefore, by increasing public awareness about the properties of medicinal plants and using chamomile teainstead of caffeinated drinks, we can take advantage of its beneficial effects.