GABA

Anxiety is a mental disorder that affects 25% of patients with epilepsy, and treatments for anxiety and seizures involve the use of benzodiazepines, a class of drugs that have many adverse effects such as decreased motor coordination, drowsiness, and sedation. Thus, new types of drugs with minimal side effects are of immediate requirement. Chalcones comprise a class of compounds with important therapeutic potential and have recently been investigated for their potential as anxiolytic and anticonvulsant agents. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the anxiolytic and anticonvulsant effects of the synthetic chalcone (E)-3-(furan-2-yl)-1-(2hydroxy-3,4,6-trimethoxyphenyl)prop-2-en-1-one (FURCHAL) using adult zebrafish as an animal model. Anxiolytic potential was assessed using the light/dark test and the anticonvulsant effect in 3-stage pentylenetetrazol (PTZ)-induced seizure tests. The mechanisms of the anxiolytic effect were analyzed using γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and the serotoninergic system. The anxiolytic effect of FURCHAL was verified by a reduction in fish locomotion, similar to diazepam (DZP), which may involve the GABA