The Effect of Hydro-alcoholic Extract of Ficus Carica on Passive Avoidance Learning and Memory in Male Rats

Introduction & Medical research of memory deficits and age-related memory loss has resulted in new methods and treatment techniques to improve memory، includ-ing uses of medical herbs and natural medicines. To this purpose، in the present study the ef-fect of hydro-alcoholic extract of Ficus Carica (FC) on passive avoidance (PA) learning and memory was examined in male rats. This experimental study was performed on 40 male wistar rats. Animals were divided in 4 groups randomly: control (normal saline) group and groups treated with three doses (150، 250 and 350 mg/kg) of FC extract. Administrations of saline or extract were done by (daily) gavage for two weeks. Then rats were entered to shuttle box to record animal behavior in PA task. Retrieval test was done 24 hours after training. The results show that there is a significant difference on the PA learning and memory between the groups. Extract of FC dose has dependently improved the acquisition and re-trieval of PA task. It seems that this result is due to sugar and numerous useful compounds in FC and antioxidant effect of these substances on neural structures related to learning and memory processing. (Sci J Hamadan Univ Med Sci 2014; 20 (4): 312-319)