Documentation and Preliminary Biological Screening of Medicinal Plants Used for Mental Health Conditions in Abia State, South East Nigeria

Mental health disorders including psychosis, depression, and epilepsy are significantly stigmatised in Abia State, South East Nigeria, and a high proportion of affected individuals first seek treatment through traditional medicine systems before accessing formal psychiatric care. Despite this, the plants used in traditional mental health management in this zone are inadequately documented. This study records medicinal plants used for mental health conditions in Umuahia and Aba metropolitan areas through semi-structured interviews with 40 traditional healers and 20 herbal practitioners. Plant specimens were identified at the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike herbarium. Twenty-four plant species across 18 families were documented. Cannabis sativa, Rauwolfia vomitoria, Datura stramonium, and Securidaca longepedunculata were among the most frequently cited. Preparations were predominantly oral decoctions and steam inhalations. Preliminary biological screening of the three most-cited non-controlled species confirmed the presence of psychoactive indole alkaloids, flavonoids with GABA-modulating properties, and terpenoids with documented anxiolytic activity. The study acknowledges the complexity of botanical management of mental illness in the context of cultural beliefs and advocates for a responsible, destigmatising approach to research in this domain. Recommendations include neuropsychopharmacological evaluations under ethical supervision for safely testable species. Keywords: mental health, ethnobotany, Abia State, psychoactive plants, Rauwolfia vomitoria