Herbal Medicine in the Treatment of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: A Review

Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a severe and debilitating neuropsychiatric condition that is characterized by recurrent and intrusive thought that the affected individual feels compelled to perform in order to reduce the distress. It affects between 1 to 3% of the general population around the world and has some gender-related features. Although selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, tricyclic antidepressants and cognitive-behavioral therapy are the first line medication and treatment of OCD, an estimated 30% of patients are treatment-resistant and complete functional recovery is rare. Therefore, several researches and trials have been done to develop new pharmacotherapeutic agents or modulate different neurotransmitters for treatment of OCD. In this concept alternative medicine and particular herbal medicine are very interesting in this issue. We focus on some herbal medicine in the treatment of OCD in this review.