Ficus religiosa as anticonvulsant
Ficus religiosa is being used in folk medicine for many therapeutic conditions. Recent studies have reaffirmed many of its traditional use. Among different other biological activities on central nervous system, it has been reported to be used in ethnomedical treatment of epilepsy, which led us to further explore its anticonvulsant activity in various animal models of epilepsy. Ficus religiosa homoeopathic mother tincture was used in epilepsy induced by maximum electroshock (MES), picrotoxin and pentylenetetrazol (PTZ). To study reversal protective effect of mother tincture of Ficus religiosa, cyproheptadine, a nonselective serotonin antagonist was used. Acute toxicity, neurotoxicity and potentiation of pentobarbitone induced sleep are also assessed. It was found that the drug has inhibited seizures induced by MES and has no toxicity and potentiated pentobarbitone induced sleep. It was also compared with clinically used antiepileptic drugs. Animals pretreated with cyproheptadine showed inhibition of the anticonvulsant effect of extract. It was concluded by the researchers that Ficus religiosa had anticonvulsant activity against MES and picrotoxin induced convulsions.
Reference: Damanpreet Singha, Rajesh Kumar Goel, Anticonvulsant effect of Ficus religiosa: Role of serotonergic pathways, Journal of Ethnopharmacology, Volume 123, Issue 2, 22 June 2009, Pages 330–334