Gastrointestinal tract microbiome

Abstract

Objective: To determine the effect of Cnestis ferruginea Vahl ex DC (connaraceae) root bark extract on gastrointestinal tract (GIT) microbiome of Albino wistar rats. Materials and Method: A total of 15 wistar rats were used for this study. They were randomly divided into 5 groups. Fecal samples were collected, a 10 fold serial dilution was done and plated using a spread plate method. The powdered root bark of Cnestis ferruginea was extracted with 80% methanol using a soxhlet extractor at 60°c. The resulting extract was administered to the rats in different doses, 200 mg/kg body weight (low dose) and 400 mg/kg body weight (high dose) for 14 days. Results: The study revealed that at both low and high doses, the root bark extract of C. ferruguinea was able to reduce the population of the bacteria present in the GIT of the Wistar rats with only providencia, Aeromonas spp, and Proteus spp as remaining organisms when compared to the control group, thus confirming the antimicrobial effect of the root extract.