Aegle marmelos (Bael) is a tree that is reported to have a number of medicinal properties including antidiarrhoeal, antidiabetic, anticancer, radioprotective, antifungal, antimicrobial, anti-microfilarial, antiinflammatory, antipyretic and analgesic effects. Studies have also suggested that extracts of the tree may be useful in the treatment of anxiety. For example, in one study researchers investigated the effects of bael leaves and found they possessed significant anxiolytic effects in mice. The phytochemicals contained within the leaves of bael include an essential oil containing marmenol, β-caryophyllene and α-humulene, triterpenoids (e.g. lupeol, β and γ-sitosterol), flavonoid (e.g. rutin), alkaloids (e.g. rutacin, aegeline and aegelinine), coumarins (e.g. marmesinin, umbelliferone), condensed tannins, anthocyanins and flavonoid glycosides. These phytochemicals may explain the anxiolytic effects of the tree as many of these chemicals possess antioxidant and antiinflammatory effects.
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