Antidiarrheal activity of some selected Nigerian plants used in traditional medicine

Abstract

Context: Herbal preparations of the various parts of Vitellaria paradoxa, Neorautanenia mitis, Senna surattensis, and Hydnora abyssinica have been used in the Nigerian traditional medical practice to treat the symptoms of diarrhea in humans and animals. Aims: This study aims to validate claims of the traditional use of these plants in the treatment of diarrhea and provide a scientific basis for further studies. Materials and Methods: The median lethal dose (LD50) values of the extracts were obtained using the Limit test. Castor oil induced diarrhea and intestinal transit (motility) models in albino rats were used to determine the antidiarrheal activity. Graded doses of the extracts were administered to 3 test groups, while the positive control groups were given standard drugs (atropine and loperamide) and the negative control groups received distilled water per os. Results: The LD50 was considered higher than 2000 mg/Kg for all the extracts. In the castor oil-induced diarrhea model, the highest percentage inhibition of defecation was observed in the test groups treated with the extracts of H. abyssinica (82%) followed by S. surattensis (81%), N. mitis (66%), and V. paradoxa (32%). H. abyssinica extract significantly decreased the intestinal transit of charcoal meal compared to the other extracts. Conclusion: The antidiarrheal activities of all the extracts give credence to their traditional use. H. abyssinica comparatively had the best antidiarrheal activity and has the potential as an antidiarrheal agent. Thus, the need for further studies of this extract to investigate active fractions, isolate and characterize active compounds, and determine their activities and safety.

Isolation of bioactive compounds from medicinal plants used in traditional medicine: Rautandiol B, a potential lead compound against Plasmodium falciparum

“…And the DCM and ethanol extracts from N. mitis were coded from its local name ‘abargora’ as ABDCM and ABEOH, respectively. The color and appearances and percentage yields of the DCM and ethanol extracts from all three plants are reported in Table 1 , while that of the water extracts ( S. surrattensis -CAQ, H. abyssinica -KAQ and N. mitis -ABAQ) were described earlier [ 3 ]. Higher percentage yields of 11.6 and 10.3% were observed from the ethanol extracts of S. surrattensis and H. abyssinica respectively, compared to their DCM extracts.…”

“…All plants were collected from Kabwir Village in Kanke Local Government Area of Plateau State, Nigeria (Latitude 9 o 29′ 18.2′′ N and 9 o 29′ 30.0′′ E) in July 2016. They were submitted for identification and authentication to the Department of Plant Science and Technology University of Jos, Nigeria where voucher/reference numbers were assigned as follows, N. mitis (UJ16000246), S. surattensis (UJ16000248), and H. abyssinica (UJ16000248) [ 3 ].…”

“…The aqueous extracts for this study were from the same batch of plant material as described in our previous study [ 3 ].…”

“…Medicinal plants are useful in the treatment of many ailments and diseases among rural dwellers, indigenous users, traditional medicine (TM) practitioners, and livestock owners in many African countries. The traditional knowledge of medicinal plants if harnessed, can give insights into the vital role that medicinal plants play in drug development [1][2][3]. Often, a single medicinal plant can have multiple uses, and sometimes different parts of the same plant may be used for the treatment of more than one disease condition.…”

“…They are also used as an anticonvulsant, anti-malarial, fish poison, insecticide, and for killing bilharziascarrying fresh water snails in many African countries [6][7][8][9][10]. The crude extracts and phytochemical constituents isolated from N. mitis have shown antidiarrheal [3,11], acaricidal, insecticidal [12], antinocicetive, antiinflammatory [9,13], larvicidal, mosquitocidal [14], cytotoxicity [11,15], and antimicrobial, activities [16]. H. abyssinica, is referred to as one of the strangest plants in the world, with its vegetative body consisting of only flowers, fruits and roots and has no leaves.…”