Browsing by Author "Yacob, Teshager"

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    Evaluation of the Antidiarrheal Activity of 80% Methanol Extract of the Aerial Parts of Ajuga remota Benth in Mice
    (Addis Ababa University, 2014-12) Yacob, Teshager; Nedi, Teshome (PhD); Shibeshi, Workineh(PhD)
    In the Ethiopian traditional medicine, the aerial parts of Ajuga remota Benth ( Local name, Armagusa) is used in the treatment of diarrhea. Since this claim has not been investigated scientifically, this study was undertaken to evaluate the anti-diarrheal activity of 80% methanol extract of A. remota (MEAR) using experimental models in mice . The MEAR was administered at doses of (200, 400, 600 and 800 mg/kg ) to four groups of mice (six animals per group) orally in castor oil diarrhea model. Two other groups , one as control and the other as standard ( loperamide 5mg/kg ) were used for comparison with the treatment group. The effect of the extract on the other models, enteropooling and gastrointestinal transit models, was also evaluated using the same grouping and dosing . The extract at doses of 400, 600, and 800 mg/kg produced a dosedependent and significant inhibition both on the frequency and onset of diarrhea. The percentage purging frequency was 53.4%, 66.7%, 79.6% (p < 0.001; for all), and 66.7% (p < 0.001) at three doses of MEAR (400, 600, and 800mg/kg ) and with loperamide (5mg/kg ), respectively. The percentage inhibition in intestinal fluid accumulation was 42.5%, 62.1% , and 74.2% ( p < 0.001; for all ) at doses of 400, 600 and 800 mg/kg of MEAR, respectively. The MEAR also inhibited significantly (p<0.001) and in a dose dependent manner both the normal or castor oil induced intestinal transit. Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of secondary metabolites like alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenoids, tannins, phenolics, glycosides, steroids, and saponins which might have accounted for the antidiarrheal activity. To conclude, this study has shown that the hydroalcoholic extract of A. remota contains pharmacologically active substances with significant antidiarrheal activity in all the experimental models used in this study . Key words : Antidiarrheal, castor oil, enteropooling, gastrointestinal propulsion, Ajuga remota