In vitro antifertility evaluation of n-hexane seed extract of Ricinus communis Var Minor (RICOM 1013-J) on rabbits’ fallopian tube

Natural products used as contraceptive agents among indigenous communities for child spacing are pointers to the ethnopharmacological relevance of medicinal plants, including the seed of Ricinus communis var minor (RICOM 1013-J) popularly used by the tribal women in Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State, Nigeria. Confirmatory studies on the efficacy and safety of RICOM 1013-J) using different models to further authenticate this property scientifically have become imperative. The study aimed to further evaluate the contraceptive mechanism of action of RICOM 1013-J using the rabbit’s fallopian tube. The effect of pre-treatment with n-hexane extract of RICOM 1013-J on isolated rabbits’ fallopian tube was evaluated after days: 10, 30, 60, and 90 after which uterotonic drugs (Acetylcholine, Oxytocin, Misoprostol, Ergometrine, and KCl) were used to study the activity and response of the isolated rabbits’ fallopian tissue. A time-dependent alteration of the contractile profile of the rabbits’ fallopian tubes as a result of pre-treatment with a single oral dose of RICOM 1013-J (30 mg/kg) with a remarked abolishment of the normal rhythmicity of the rabbit’s fallopian tube. The antifertility efficacy of RICOM 1013-J is re-established owing to its contraceptive mechanism of action in the fallopian tube activity for over five gestation periods in rabbits.