In this study, methanolic crude extracts of Stephania japonica (Thunb.) Miers. (MESJ) whole plants were examined for possible antidepressant and sedative-hypnotic activities. Herein, the forced swimming test and tail suspension test were conducted to explore the antidepressant activity. In addition, the open field test and hole-board test were performed to evaluate the sedative-hypnotic activities. In the acute toxicity test, the MESJ ensured safety up to a dose of 2000 mg/kg, p.o. The experimental doses were 100 and 200 mg/kg p.o. In both the forced swimming test and tail suspension test, the extract significantly (p<0.01 and p<0.05) inhibited immobility time in a dose dependent manner compared to the control. These results (13.56-26.46% inhibition) indicate the mild antidepressant activity of MESJ compared to nortriptyline (60.4-64.6% inhibition). The open field test and hole-board test demonstrated the dose dependent significant (p<0.001, p<0.01 and p<0.05) and moderate sedative-hypnotic activities of the extract compared to diazepam. However, these activities were found to gradually decrease after 60 min in the open field test and must be considered as short-term activities, compared to diazepam. It can be claimed that the methanolic crude extract of Stephania japonica possesses mild antidepressant and moderate but short-term sedative-hypnotic activities.

From the very first of human civilization, traditional medicines have been used to treat various ailments. Although herbal medicines have some limitations from a scientific point of view concerning their formulations, they are believed to have fewer side effects and are cost effective as well as available, especially where modern drugs are not easily found, i.e. rural and remote areas. To treat various diseases, traditional medicinal practitioners (TMPs) use different plants which are safe and effective for related ailments. But to find out how TMPs do that without any scientific basement, we conducted a survey at Kishoreganj district of Bangladesh. Here, we found that they use different parts of a plant such as roots, leaves, even the whole plant to treat diseases like schizophrenia. After studying the data collected from the ethnomedicinal study, we found that Allium cepa, Aegle marmelos, Acorus calamus, Brassica oleracea, Ocimum sanctum and Rauvolfia serpentina possess traditional value to treat schizophrenia like psychosis (Table 1). In this present review, we are going to discuss the traditional formulations and their pharmacological activities. We also draw information from some renowned scientific journals to make our studies more authentic. We hope that this study will help to establish the aforementioned plants as traditional anti-psychotic drugs and also help researchers to find a novel compound in the treatment of schizophrenia.