Acta poloniae pharmaceuticaAug 4, 2009

Testing how the stem bark extract of Ficus capensis helps relax the uterus to delay labor

Circadian Biology Weekly Brief ↗PubMed ↗

Updated Apr 5, 2026

Abstract

The ethanolic extract of Ficus capensis at 80 mg/mL significantly reduced uterine contractions in an isolated rat model.

Smooth muscle relaxant activity was observed at the higher concentration, with a significant reduction in contractions induced by oxytocin, ergometrin, and acetylcholine (p < 0.05).
At 80 mg/mL, the extract demonstrated 40% and 50% of the inhibitory effects seen with salbutamol and atropine, respectively.
The 40 mg/mL concentration showed an insignificant effect on contractions, although a decrease in the response curve was noted.
The study suggests that active components in the bark extract may contribute to its traditional use as an anti-abortifacient.

Simplified

Ficus capensis, a wild fig tree is used in herbal medicines to treat pregnancy related ailment and most especially as a remedy for threatened abortion. The purpose of this study was to investigate this claim with view to validating scientifically the ethno-medicinal usage. The ethanolic extract obtained by maceration technique was subjected to pharmacological testing in vitro on a piece of isolated rat uterus previously pretreated with stilbestrol, suspended in De Jalon at 37 degrees C. Concentrations used were 40 mg/mL and 80 mg/mL. The higher concentration (80 mg/mL) significantly (p < 0.05) exerted smooth muscle relaxant activity on the uterus (a reduction of oxytocin, ergometrin and acetylcholine induced contractions as well as an increase of the EC50 was observed for all the agonists tested in the presence of the extract). Evaluation of the data also indicated that the effect of the 40 mg/mL concentration was statistically insignificant, although a lowering of the dose response curve was observed for oxytocin, acetylcholine and ergometrin. Its relaxant activity at 80 mg/mL was 40 and 50% of the inhibitory effects produced by salbutamol (0.002 microg/mL) and atropine (0.02 microg/mL) on oxytocin and acetylcholine induced contractions, respectively. The results indicate the presence of active principles in the bark extract of Ficus capensis which may be responsible for some of the applications in traditional medicines as an anti-abortifacient and as a remedy against threatened abortion.

Testing how the stem bark extract of Ficus capensis helps relax the uterus to delay labor

Abstract

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