Evaluation of Anti-Compulsive effects of Methanolic extract of Citrus medica Fruits in Mice

Throughout the past few decades, the suppression of spontaneous marble burying behavior in mice, using glass marbles, has been utilized as measure of antianxiety drug efficacy in the marble-burying behavior test. Citrus medica reported for the treatment of various diseases and ailments in humans and animals in different systems of traditional medicine. Despite the numerous medicinal properties of Citrus medica (Rutaceae), known as citron, its neurological effects remain largely unexplored. This is the first study to assess the anti-obsessive-compulsive disorder (anti-compulsive) effects of the methanolic extract of Citrus medica fruits (MECM) using the marble-burying behavior test in mice. This study was carried out using Swiss albino mice as an animal model to assess marble-burying behavior. MECM (25, 50, 100mg/kg, i.p.) reduced marble-burying behavior of mice in a dose-dependent manner, similar to the effect of fluoxetine (5mg/kg, i.p.), a drug commonly used to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder. Neither fluoxetine nor MECM caused any overt motor disfunction. Preliminary phytochemical investigation of MECM shows that flavonoid glycosides, limonene, linalool, steroids and β-sitosterol are present in MECM. This study provides the first evidence that the fruit exhibits anti-compulsive activity, corroborating traditional claims. Future studies should aim to isolate and characterize the bioactive compounds in this fruit and assess their potential to mitigate compulsive behaviors through preclinical and clinical evaluations.