<p>Evaluation of Anti-Diarrheal Activity of 80% Methanol Extracts of <em>Vernonia amygdalina</em> Delile (Asteraceae) Leaves in Mice</p>

Abstract

Introduction Diarrhea is a cause of morbidity and mortality, especially in children. Patients with diarrhea have been suffering from limited treatment options due to poor drug tolerance, side effect, and multi-drug resistance to almost all the current drug treatments. Therefore, it is important to search for a new therapeutic medicine that can effectively prevent the disease and safe. Vernonia amygdalina is an indigenous medicinal plant used traditionally for the treatment of diarrhea in Ethiopia. The aim of this study was therefore to confirm the antidiarrheal activities of 80% methanol leaves extract using mice models. Materials and Methods The antidiarrheal activities of the 80% methanol leaves extract were investigated using castor oil-induced diarrhea, intestinal motility, and enteropooling models in mice. The negative control received distilled water orally, the test groups received three dose levels (100, 200, and 400 mg/kg) of the plant materials, and the positive control is given 3 mg/kg Loperamide orally. Results In the castor oil-induced diarrheal model, the extract delayed onset of diarrhea and reduced fecal parameters at all tested doses significantly as compared with the negative control. Results from the charcoal meal test revealed that the extract produced a significant anti-motility effect at all tested doses as compared with the negative control. In the enteropooling test, the extract produced a significant decline in the volume and weight of intestinal contents. The observed antidiarrheal activity could be associated with the phytochemicals present in this plant extract. It was also observed that the extracts have shown no acute toxicity at a dose of 2 g/kg. Conclusion This study provides the antidiarrheal activity of the crude extract in all three models. Hence, the findings provide scientific support for the traditional use of Vernonia amygdalina leaves as treatment of diarrhea.

Evaluation of hepatoprotective and antidiarrheal activities of the hydromethanol crude extract and solvent fractions of Schinus molle L. (Anacardiaceae) leaf and fruit in mice

“…Thus, it is possible that the extract significantly inhibited gastrointestinal hypersecretion and enteropooling by increasing the reabsorption of electrolytes and water or by inhibiting the induced intestinal accumulation of fluid [ 53 ]. The anti-enteropooling activity of the extract may also be related to the presence of phytochemical constituents including flavonoids, steroids, and tannins [ [53] , [54] , [55] ].…”

“…This finding showed that the extract could influence the peristaltic movement of the intestine, thereby indicating intestinal antimotility activity. Several plants have shown antidiarrheal activity by reducing gastrointestinal motility and secretion [ [50] , [51] , [52] , [53] , [54] , [55] ].…”

Acute gastroenteritis and the usage pattern of antibiotics and traditional herbal medications for its management in a Nigerian community

“…indica [ 28 ] and V . amygdalina [ 27 ], and the antiviral effects of M . indica against non-enteric viruses such as herpes simplex virus (HSV)-1 and -2 and HIV (reviewed in [ 51 ]).…”

“…Some herbal medications reported in this study such as Agbo iba, 'Agbo jedi-jedi', Gangaria de flush and Goko herbal cleanser are mixtures of multiple herbs, while others are individual herbs (Table 3), some of which have been reported for antidiarrheal properties using castor oil-induced diarrhoea in Wistar rats [26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34]. In this report, we sought to investigate the impact of the unregulated use of herbal plants on AGE using in vitro assays to assess the antibacterial effects of ethanolic extracts of some of the reported plants.…”

“…Our findings further showed that extracts of E. Africana, Igi Odan (F. capensis), M. indica and V. amygdalina were strong inhibitors of all bacterial samples investigated. Studies have reported on antidiarrheal activities of F. capensis [55], M. indica [28] and V. amygdalina [27], and the antiviral effects of M. indica against non-enteric viruses such as herpes simplex virus (HSV)-1 and -2 and HIV (reviewed in [51]). Although extracts of E. Africana, F. capensis and M. indica are used as individual herbal medications, extracts of V. amygdalina was popularly used individually or as a constituent of the 'Agbo jedi-jedi' concoction [24] (Table 3).…”