Antidiarrheal activity of Pyrenacantha staudtii Engl. (Icacinaceae) aqueous leaf extract in rodents

Pyrenacantha staudtii Engl. (Icacinaceae) is a plant which is traditionally used for the treatment of blemnorrhea, hernia, insomnia, intestinal pain and diarrhea in Nigeria. Therefore the core aim of the present study is to evaluate antidiarrheal activity of Pyrenacantha staudtii aqueous extract (PSE).

The antidiarrheal activity was evaluated using castor oil-induced diarrhea method. The effects of Pyrenacantha staudtii aqueous extract on gastrointestinal motility, intestinal transit and enteropooling were also examined in rodents. The acute toxicity effect of the aqueous extract of Pyrenacantha staudtii was also investigated.

Pyrenacantha staudtii aqueous extract (PSE, 100-400mg/kg, p.o.) produced dose-dependent and significant (P<0.05-0.01) protection of rats and mice against castor oil-induced diarrhea, inhibited intestinal transit, and delayed gastric emptying. PSE, produced dose-dependent and significant (P<0.05-0.01) antimotility effect, caused dose-related inhibition of castor-oil-induced enteropooling in animals, comparable to atropine (1mg/kg, p.o.). Like loperamide (10mg/kg, p.o.), PSE, dose-dependently and significantly (P<0.05-0.01) delayed the onset of castor-oil induced diarrhea, decreased the frequency of defecation, and reduced the severity of diarrhea in the rodents. Compared with control animals, PSE, dose-dependently and significantly (P<0.05-0.01) decreased the volume of castor oil-induced intestinal fluid secretion, and reduced the number, weight and wetness of fecal droppings.

The findings of this study indicate that PSE possesses antidiarrheal property in rats and mice. These findings confirm the ethnomedicinal use of Pyrenacantha staudtii leaf as a valuable natural remedy for the treatment, management and/or control of diarrhea.