Evaluation of In Vivo Anti-Diarrheal Activity of Selected Medicinal Plants Traditionally Prescribed for the Management of Diarrhea

Document Type : Original Research

Authors

1 Department of Eastern Medicine, University of Poonch, Rawalakot Azad Jammu and Kashmir-Pakistan

2 Banner University Medical Center

3 Department of Eastern Medicine, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Government College University Faisalabad

4 Department of Biochemistry, Government College University Faisalabad-Pakistan

5 Department of Allied Health Sciences, Sargodha Medical College, University of Sargodha-Pakistan

6 School of Medicine, Ross University, Bridgetown, Barbados

Abstract

This study explores the anti-diarrheal activities of aqueous-ethanolic extract of selected medicinal plants collected from Rawalakot Azad Kashmir, Pakistan. Different doses of the hydro-ethanolic extract of these Punica granatum, Aegle marmelos, Myrtus communis, and Helicteres isora as 250, 500, and 1000 mg/kg body weight (b.w.) were tested for antidiarrheal activity using castor oil-induced diarrhea in standardized animal specimens of albino rats (n = 5 in each group). Loperamide as a standard drug (control group, n= 5) and atropine (control group, n= 5) were utilized to evaluate the frequency of diarrheal feces and to check the intestinal transit by charcoal meal, respectively, while normal saline was used as a negative control group (n= 5). Anti-diarrheal activities of hydro-ethanolic extracts at different doses were compared to standard drug and negative control group. Results revealed that extracts of the selected plants at different doses induced significant (p < 0.05) reduction in number of diarrheal feces and this reduction was increased with increasing the dosage. This demonstrated that aqueous ethanolic extracts of the studied plants were able to increase the percentage inhibition of the charcoal meal movement and at high concentration (1000mg/kg b.w.), it significantly decreased the intestinal transit as compared with standard drug (atropine). From these results, it can be concluded that the selected traditional plants can have a significant antidiarrheal effect, but more research is recommended to explore the phytochemical constituents responsible for these anti-diarrheal activities.

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