ANTIDIARRHOEAL ACTIVITIES OF BRYOPHYLLUM PINNATUM LEAF EXTRACT IN CASTOR OIL - INDUCED DIARRHOEA IN ALBINO RATS

Abstract

This study was carried out to determine the antidiarrheal activities of ethanolic leaf extract of Bryophyllum pinnatum in Albino rats. Standard methods were employed to determine the acute toxicity, antidiarrhoeal activity, haematological, histopathological effect and phytochemical screening of the leaf extract. The antidiarrhoeal activity was evaluated using induced diarrhoeal model (castor oil and E. coli), charcoal meal test and enteropooling test in rat. The test groups received respectively various doses of 200, 300, 500 mg/kg of the extract. Positive controls received either Loperamide (5mg/kg), morphine (3mg/kg) or Atropine (2ml/kg) and negative controls received normal saline (2ml/kg). Qualitative phytochemical screening revealed the presence of flavonoids, tannin, alkaloids, saponin, terpenoids, glycosides, phenol and coumarin while quantitative screening revealed the percentage weight of tannin, flavonoids, saponin, phenols, glycosides, coumarin, terpenoids and alkaloids as 25.00%, 20.00%, 17.50%, 13.00%, 7.00%, 6.00%, 6.50%, and 5.00% respectively. The ethanolic leave extract did not reveal any toxicity at all dosage levels used. In castor oil and Enterotoxigenic E. coli - induced diarrhoea, the extract at all dosage level significantly decrease the frequency of diarrhoea (P < 0.05) compared with control. In castor oil - induced enterpooling, the volume and weight of intestinal content decreased significantly at all extract dosage level similar to atropine compared with the control. In the gastrointestinal transit test, 500mg/kg extract and morphine showed decreased propulsion compared to other treated groups and control. Haematological analysis revealed no significant changes in Hb (Haemoglobin), MCV (Mean Cell Volume), PCV (Packed Cell Volume), Basophiles, eosinophils values and a significant reduction in RBC (Red blood cell) level of all treated groups. However, there was a significant increase (P > 0.05) in monocytes, lymphocytes, ESR (Erythrocytes Sedimentation Rate), WBC and a significant decrease (P ˂ 0.05) in neutrophil level in rats administered with 500mg/kg extract. There was no necrosis or organ degeneration in the histological sections of kidney in treated rats and restoration of mild dilation of the hepatocytes was observed in the liver of treated rat induced with castor oil and E. coli at all extract dosage levels compared to control group. In this study, the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, saponins, and terpenoids in ethanoic extracts of B. pinnatum could have been responsible for its anti-diarrhoeal effect in induced diarrhoea. The study showed that B. pinnatum may be safe and 500mg /kg dosage rate is suitable for the treatment of toxigenic E.coli infection.