Adolescent age group constituting 21% of India’s population is the period of rapid physical, sexual, psychological growth. Increased parental and peer pressure can put this age group into lots of stress. Poor mental health is strongly related to other health and development concerns in young people notably, lower educational achievements, substances abuse, violence and poor reproductive and sexual health. Unfortunately, modern medicine based neurological drugs have met with unsatisfactory success in treatment of various neuropsychiatric disorders due to multi-factorial nature of these diseases.

The Medhya Rasayanas are a special class of Ayurvedic nutraceuticals which are specific to brain and nervous system. They are claimed to promote cognitive functions of the brain and are specifically indicated for maintenance of psychological well being. Medhya rasayana drugs play an essential role in the treatment of psychiatric and psychosomatic diseases. The mode of this therapy involves the individual to attain sedation, calmness, tranquility or a stimulation of activities of brain. Based on the experimental and clinical research, it is known that these drugs have varying degree of psychotropic action and are known to possess antidepressant, sedative and tranquilizing action. These plants are used both in herbal and conventional medicine and offer benefits that pharmaceutical drugs lack. Present review entails the evidences of Medhya rasayana drugs in management of psychological distress in adolescents and reveals that these drugs have potential to alleviate the distress among adolescents.