Diarrheal disease, characterized by the release of more than three loose or liquid stools per day, remains one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in children below 5 years of age in developing countries. Many drugs used in diarrhea management face contraindication and, with regard to infectious diarrhea, resistance of some bacterial strains; this therefore increases the need of new alternative and more effective drugs. This study aimed to evaluate anti-Shigella flexneri activities of Crinum jagus water/ethanol extract. In vitro activities were assayed by disc diffusion and agar dilution methods and in vivo section on Shigella flexneri-induced diarrhea in rats. This was done by oral administration of 9 X 108 CFU of Shigella flexneri to rats that were treated twice daily with Crinum jagus water/ethanol extract for seven consecutive days. Ciprofloxacin was used as positive control. Daily Shigella flexneri load was evaluated. After one treatment week, animals were then sacrificed and interleukins (IL-2 and INF-γ), immunoglobulins (IgA and IgM), motilin, vasoactive intestinal peptide, and ions (sodium, potassium, calcium, and chloride) levels were determined. Also, blood cell count was realized. Crinum jagus water/ethanol extract dose-dependently inhibited Shigella flexneri growth with inhibition diameter of 18.90 and 25.36 mm, respectively, at 0.39 and 200 mg/mL. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was 0.10 mg/mL and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) was 0.30 mg/mL with MBC/MIC ratio of 3.0. In Shigella flexneri-induced diarrheic rats, Crinum jagus reduced (p<0.01) diarrheal stools emission and Shigella load and lowered IL-2, INF-γ, IgA, IgM, and motilin blood levels, whereas it increased (p<0.01) vasoactive intestinal peptide, sodium, potassium, calcium, and chloride blood levels. In diarrheal rats, Crinum jagus restored the decreasing white blood cells and haemoglobin and restored the damaged colon epithelium, where it reduced the density of mucus-filled goblet cells. These results confirm the use of Crinum jagus in ethnomedicine in diarrhea treatment.

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This study was undertaken to evaluate the activities of water/ethanol Cola anomala pods extract. In vitro antimicrobial susceptibility was determined by the disk diffusion method; the minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration were determined by agar dilution technique. In vivo, shigellosis was induced in healthy Wistar albino rats by oral administration of Shigella flexneri inoculum, 12 × 108 CFU/mL. At the onset of diarrhea, infected and normal control animals were subdivided into various groups treated with distilled water, with water/ethanol Cola anomala pods extract at 25, 50, or 100 mg/kg, or with ciprofloxacin, 2.5 mg/kg. After one-week treatment, rats were sacrificed, and blood and colon were collected. Blood was used for blood cell count. A portion of the colon served for histological studies while homogenate from the remaining part was centrifuged and the supernatant was collected for the determination of NO, PGE2, IL-1β, and TNF-α levels. In vitro, water/ethanol Cola anomala pods extract showed to be bactericidal, with a minimum inhibitory concentration of 2.0 mg/mL and a minimum bactericidal concentration of 3.0 mg/mL. In diarrheic rats, the extract significantly (P < 0.01) increased the white blood cells and significantly (P < 0.01) decreased stool Shigella density from the first to the seventh day of treatment. It partially restored the structure of eroded intestine epithelium and prevented weight loss; the dose dependently and significantly (P < 0.001) decreased NO, IL-1β, and TNF-α production in the colon and was found to have no significant effect on PGE2 production. These results support the use of this plant in traditional medicine in the treatment of gastrointestinal ailments.

Objective The treatment of diarrheal diseases is a serious problem in developing countries, where population generally uses medicinal plants. The leaves of Bixa orellana have been reported to be traditionally used in the treatment of diarrhea by local people in the district of Khulna in Bangladesh. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the hydroethanolic extract of Bixa orellana leaves on castor oil-induced diarrhea in mice. Methods The powder of the leaves of Bixa orellana was macerated in ethanol/water mixture (20/80) for 48 hours and then filtered. The filtrate obtained was lyophilized, and the solutions to be administered to the animals were prepared. To induce diarrhea, animals orally received castor oil (1 mL/100 g bw). To determine the effective doses, each mouse received, 30 minutes after the administration of castor oil, one of the single oral doses of hydroethanolic extract of Bixa orellana leaves: 0, 25, 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg bw. The mass, number, and frequency of stool diarrhea were measured and recorded per hour for five hours. The effect of the hydroethanolic extract of Bixa orellana leaves on the intestinal transit was evaluated by measuring the distance traveled by the charcoal meal in thirty minutes. The effects of the aqueous extract of hydroethanolic extract of Bixa orellana leaves on intestinal secretion were evaluated by measuring the volume of the intestinal content and by dosing the electrolytes (Na+, K+, and Cl−) in the intestinal content by the colorimetric method. Results The extract produced significant (P < 0.01) decreases, respectively, 35.52%, 54.47%, 74.80%, and 87.80% in the severity of diarrhea. The extract at 100 and 200 mg/kg bw showed a significant (P < 0.01) decrease of castor oil-induced enteropooling (61.08% and 65.41%), and only the 200 mg/kg bw exhibited significant (P < 0.01) reduction on intestinal transit (24.46%) as compared to standard drug. Conclusions The hydroethanolic extract was found to be effective against castor oil-induced diarrhea in experimental mice at 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg bw which provides evidence that could justify its traditional use.

Aim: Oxalis barrelieri is a medicinal plant commonly used in Cameroon, for the treatment of many diarrheal diseases. The antibacterial properties of O barrelieri aqueous extract (WOb) against Shigella dysenteriae type 1 were investigated in vitro and in vivo.Methods: Antibacterial activity was evaluated in vitro by disc diffusion method and by macrodilution method. S dysenteriae type 1 at a dose of 1.2 × 10 9 CFU was administrated orally to rats to induce shigellosis. For 6 consecutive days, diarrheic rats were treated with O barrelieri aqueous extract (50 and 100 mg/kg BW) or norfloxacin (20 mg/kg BW). The diarrheal stool weight and S dysenteriae type 1 density were assessed during the treatment period, and death rate recorded. Nitric oxide production in blood and in colonic homogenate and blood parameterswere assessed, and the histological section of the colon was performed in the survivors. Results:The minimal inhibitory concentration and minimal bactericidal concentration of WOb were, respectively, 6 mg/mL and 25 mg/mL. The mean minimal bactericidal concentration/minimal inhibitory concentration ratio for WOb against S dysenteriae type 1 was high (˃4); WOb could be classified as a bacteriostatic drug. WOb significantly (P < .01) reduced bacterial density and diarrheal stool weight. WOb decreased nitric oxide production (P < .01) in the large intestine and protected the mucosa of the colon from bacterial destruction. Conclusion:The results suggest that O barrelieri aqueous extract possesses bacteriostatic and antidiarrheal activities and reduces damages caused to intestinal mucosa barrier by pathogenic mechanisms of Shigella. This extract could be used as an alternative therapeutic for infectious diarrhea. KEYWORDSantibacterial susceptibility, antidiarrheal activity, Oxalis barrelieri, rat, Shigella dysenteriae type 1 | INTRODUCTIONIn mammals, the gastrointestinal tract harbors various microbes that play an essential role in maintaining its physiological homeostasis. ------------------------------------------------------------------This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.