Abstract
Aim:The use of traditional medicine as an alternative source of cure for many ailments has played an important role in health care delivery in both developing and developed countries. Byrsocarpus coccineus Schum and Thonn (Connaraceae) is used in traditional medicine for treatment of various disease conditions, including diarrhea. The anti-diarrhea activity of the root bark aqueous extract of B. coccineus was investigated in this study.Materials and Methods:Acute toxicity evaluation of the aqueous extract of B. coccineus root bark was performed in exposed rats. Diarrhea was induced in exposed rats with castor oil, and the effect of the extract on castor oil-induced gastrointestinal motility and enteropooling was consequently investigated.Results:In the acute toxicity study, the extract caused no death in treated rats nor produced signs of delayed toxicity, even at 5000 mg/kg. The aqueous root bark extract of B. coccineus also decreased the distance travelled by activated charcoal in the gastrointestinal tract of treated rats when compared to control rats. Results of castor oil-induced enteropooling revealed slight reduction in the weight of intestinal contents of treated rats compared to control rats. There was significant (p<0.05) decrease in the frequency of defecation as well as in the number of unformed feces produced by castor oil-induced diarrhea at 100 mg/kg dose with 74.96% inhibition of defecation.Conclusion:The study demonstrated the anti-diarrheic property of the aqueous extract of B. coccineus root bark as currently exploited in our traditional herbal therapy.
Highlights
Byrsocarpus coccineus Schum and Thonn belong to the family Connaraceae with pin-tinged green leaves and flowers that are sweet smelling when perceived [1]
The aqueous root bark extract of B. coccineus decreased the distance travelled by activated charcoal in the gastrointestinal tract of treated rats when compared to control rats
There was significant (p
Summary
Byrsocarpus coccineus Schum and Thonn belong to the family Connaraceae with pin-tinged green leaves and flowers that are sweet smelling when perceived [1]. Almost all parts of the plant (roots, leaves, stems, barks, and flowers) are of medicinal value as whole plant decoction is applied to swellings and tumors, and is used to stop bleeding [2]. There were scientific reports on the oxytocytic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-diarrhea activities of the plant [3,4], including abortifacient property [5] as well as its anti-hypertensive activity [6]. Limited scientific investigations are available on the anti-diarrheic activity of the aqueous root bark extract of the plant. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/ publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated
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