Effects of curcumin on the intestinal motility of albino rats

Curcumin has been used in traditional medicine as a household remedy for various diseases including biliary diseases, cough, hepatic diseases, wound healing. For past few decades, extensive work has been done on biological activities of curcumin. This study was carried out to provide scientific basis for the use of curcumin in gastrointestinal disorders. Animals were divided into 5 groups (Group I--Group V), based on the time interval between administration of curcumin/vehicular fluid to administration of barium sulphate (Group I--1 hr, Group II--8 hrs, Group III--16 hrs, Group IV--24 hrs, Group V--48 hrs). Each group was further divided into two sub-groups, Group A (control) and Group B (experimental), containing 6 rats each. Rats in Group A were given vehicular fluid (0.9% NaCl) while the rats in Group B were administered curcumin intragastrically by the naso-gastric tube reaching up to the lower 1/3rd of esophagus, in the dose of 1 gm/kg body weight, suspended in normal saline. After the intra-gastric administration of single dose of curcumin, there was decrease in length of small intestine traversed by BaSO4 in all the experimental groups as compared to control groups. These data suggests that curcumin decreases intestinal motility in albino rats, and this may partly explain the traditional use of curcumin in different disorders like diarrhea, abdominal cramps and irritable bowel syndrome.