The Anti-diarrhoeal effect of aqueous extract of Rubia tinctorum L. (Rubiaceae) roots in rodents was examined. At doses 300, 600 and 800 mg/kg aqueous extract protected rats, in a dose-dependent fashion, against castor oil-induced diarrhoeal dropping by 37, 59 and 64% respectively. Furthermore, it has significantly inhibited by 41% the gastrointestinal transit of charcoal in mice at 800 mg/kg dose of extract. These data suggest that Rubia tinctorum showed antidiarrhoeal activity by inhibiting intestinal motility which was concordant with its use in traditional medicine.
Artemisia herba-alba Asso. is a shrub commonly encountered in Morocco. It is used in traditional medicine for treating intestinal disorders. The essential oil extracted from the plant’s aerial parts reversibly relaxed the spontaneous tonus of the rabbit jejunum in a reversible concentration dependent manner with an IC50 value of 97.33 ± 2.59 ng/ml and reversed the tonic contraction of rat jejunum induced by 75 mM KCl and 10−6 M carbachol with IC50 values of 115.5 ± 3.05 and 119.4 ± 20.86 ng/ml, respectively. The pre-treatment of the latter isolated intestine with this essential oil produced a dose-dependent shift of the Ca++ and CCh dose-response curve to the right, with suppression of the maximal effect, similar to the non-competitive antagonist effect on muscarinic receptors and calcium channel, respectively.
The aim of the present study is to determine the chemical composition of the essential oil extracted from the flowers of Anthemis mauritiana Maire & Sennen (EOAM) and to investigate its antispasmodic effects on intestinal smooth muscle. The phytochemical composition was revealed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometer. Eighteen compounds were identified representing 90.56% of the oil. The major constituents were described as α-pinene (27.02%), sabinene (15.25%), cedrenol (14.53%) germacrene (9.61%) geraniol formate (6.82%), and caryophylene (5.38%). EOAM (10-100 µg/ml) elicited reversible relaxation of spontaneous contractions of isolated rabbit jejunal smooth muscle preparations, and similarly inhibited contractions induced by highpotassium solution ([K + ]o = 76 mM) and carbachol (10 -6 M) with IC50 values of 14.98 and 27.29 µg/ml, respectively. Furthermore, EOAM exhibited an inhibitory effect on the dose-response curves induced by carbachol and CaCl2 on rat jejunum preparations. These results clearly demonstrated the antispasmodic effect of EOAM which was strongly suggested to be mainly due to an inhibitory effect on Ca 2+ influx through the membrane of jejunal smooth muscle cells.
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