GC-MS correlated-antiepileptic screening for probable GABA-modulator by PTZ-induced acute seizure model in Swiss albino mice and phytochemical profiling of ethanol extract of Ficus benghalensis

Background: Plants, such as Ficus benghalensis (family: Moraceae), contain diverse phytoconstituents against diseases, including epilepsy, affecting more than 50 million people worldwide and is characterized by high neuronal activity in the brain that results in seizures and convulsions. Objectives: This study was designed to investigate the antiepileptic potential and to correlate possible phytochemicals responsible for it. Methods: The ethanol extract was subjected to GC-MS analysis, spectroscopic & phytochemical profiling and antiepileptic evaluation by in-vivo screening in PTZ-induced acute seizure model in mice. Results: The plant is found to be rich in polyphenols, flavonoids, sterols and terpenes, identified by spectroscopic techniques. The ethanol extract of the plant retarded the onset of seizures (p<0.0001), seizure intensity by delaying tonic-clonic seizures (p=0.0006) and seizure-duration (p=0.0001). Moreover, the extract also improved the recovery-time of mice after tonic-clonic seizures (p<0.0001) with a significant decline in overall seizure scores (p=0.0054). Conclusion: The findings suggest that the phytoconstituents of Ficus benghalensis, such as polyphenols, flavonoids, sterols and previously unidentified alkaloids, play a key role in mitigating oxidative stress, neuroinflammation and GABAergic dysfunction associated with epilepsy, which demonstrates its potential as a source of lead compound for new antiepileptic drugs. Detailed investigations on isolated phytochemicals can be done to explore their antiepileptic potential.