Summary: The comparative effects of chronic (28 days) consumption of kola nut and its active constituent, caffeine diets on locomotor behaviour and body weights in mice were investigated. 30 adult Swiss white mice (15-
30g body weight), were used for the study. The open field-maze was employed for the evaluation of locomotor behaviour. Mice in the control group (n = 10) were fed normal rodent chow, mice in the kola nut-fed group (n = 10) were fed kola diet (25% wt/wt of rodent chow) while those in the caffeine-fed group (n = 10) were fed caffeine diet (0.66% wt/wt of rodent chow) for 4 weeks. All animals were allowed free access to clean drinking water. Daily food intake, water intake and body weight change were also measured. Daily food intake in the kola nut and caffeine-fed
group of mice was significantly (P