For the first time, a low molecular weight peptide has been identified that dose-dependently exhibits anxiolytic-like activity after intraperitoneal or oral administration at doses of 0.1-1 or 0.3-3 mg/kg, respectively, in mice. In elevated plus-maze testing, the anti-anxiety effect with the peptide was more potent than that observed with diazepam, a popularly prescribed anxiolytic drug.  A general mixture of the amino acids of which the peptide was composed was inactive.  Also, no effect was observed with a reverse-sequence peptide at doses up to 300-fold greater than the identified peptide.  The data strongly indicate that the specific amino acid sequence is crucial for the potent anxiolytic activity.

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