Oral supplementation of Ficus religiosa leaf extract adversely affects the selected behavioral aspects of male albino mice

Ficus religiosa has been extensively used in traditional medicine for the treatment of gonorrhea, diarrhea, dysentery, leucorrhea, menorrhagia, vaginal and other urogenital disorders, haemorrhoids and ulcers, but limited information is available regarding their effect on behavior. The present study was designed to demonstrate the effect of F. religiosa leaf extract on the selected behavioral aspect of albino mice. Four weeks old albino mice of both genders were orally treated with 50 mg ml − 1 solvent kg − 1 body weight of F. religiosa leaf extract for seven days while the control animals were treated with saline (0.9% NaCl) solution. A battery of neurological tests (rota rod, open field, light dark box, elevated plus maze and novel object recognition) was conducted in all subjects. Female mice treated with F. religiosa leaf extract had significantly reduced rota rod performance in comparison with the control. Male mice treated with leaf extract had significantly reduced transition frequency during light dark box test while during elevated plus maze test, male mice remained mobile for less time and had reduced rotations than their control group. Male mice treated with leaf extract had significantly reduced line crossing and failed to recognize the old object during the second trial of novel object recognition test. Our results indicated that oral supplementation of F. religiosa leaf extract for seven days had significantly reduced the exploratory behavior and object recognition capacity of male mice and neuromuscular coordination of females, indicating gender specific effects of the applied ethanolic leaf extract.