Evaluation of the antidiarrheal activity of the plant extracts of Ficus species.

Objective: The Khandesh region of Jalgaon district, India has a dense forest with plenty of medicinal plants which have been used as folklore medicines by the local people for many years. They use different parts of Ficus species to treat and cure diarrhea. Depending on the traditional use of some plants as antidiarrheal by local people of that region, the authors have selected three plants (specific parts) to evaluate their antidiarrheal activities in different animal models.

Methods: Wistar albino rats weighing 180 to 200 g of either sex were used in this study. There were eight groups for each individual study with 10 animals in each group. The antidiarrheal profile of the ethanolic extracts of the bark of Ficus bengalensis and the leaves of Ficus racemosa and Ficus carica from the region of Khandesh in Jalgaon district of Maharashtra, India were evaluated by different experimental models, namely, castor oil-induced diarrhea, gastrointestinal motility test, prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂)-induced enteropooling in Wistar albino rats.

Results: The extracts of F. bengalensis (bark), F. racemosa (leaves) and F. carica (leaves) showed significant inhibitory activities against castor oil-induced diarrhea and PGE2-induced enteropooling in rats. The ethanolic extracts at 400 and 600 mg/kg significantly inhibited diarrhea. There was a significant dose-dependent decrease in diarrhea produced by all the three models in rats as compared to that of the standard drug group (P<0.01). Based on the results in experimental rat models, the ethanolic extract of Ficus species demonstrated significant reductions in faecal output and frequency of droppings when compared to the castor oil-treated rats (P<0.01). All plant extracts also significantly retarded the propulsion of charcoal meal and significantly inhibited PGE(2)-induced enteropooling.

Conclusion: All these plant materials can be claimed as potential antidiarrheal agents. The underlying mechanism appears to be spasmolytic and an anti-enteropooling property by which the different plant extracts produced relief in diarrhea. Tannins and flavonoids present in the plant extracts may be responsible for the antidiarrheal activity.