Evaluation of antidiarrheal activity of aqueous extract of the pulp and seeds of the fruit of Opuntia ficus-indica (cactaceae) in rats
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2018-11
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Addis Ababa Universty
Abstract
Evaluation of antidiarrheal activity of aqueous extract of the Pulp and Seeds of the fruit of Opuntia
ficus-indica (Cactaceae) in Rats.
Belachew Boranto
Addis Ababa University, 2018
The fruits of Opuntia ficus-indica (L) Mill is one of medicinal plants claimed to have antidiarrheal
potential, but with no scientific evidence. This study is aimed at investigating the antidiarrheal
activity of aqueous extract of the pulp and seeds of the fruit of Opuntia ficus-indica in rats. The
antidiarrheal activity was evaluated using castor oil induced diarrheal model, anti-enteropooling
and charcoal meal test in rats of either sex. In this work, the test groups received a graded dose
(100, 200 and 400 mg/kg) of aqueous extract of the pulp and seeds of the fruit of Opuntia ficusindica,
whereas positive controls received either Loperamide (2.5 mg/kg) or Atropine (3 mg/kg)
and negative controls received vehicle (10 ml/kg). Pretreatment of rats at the doses of 100, 200
and 400 mg/kg of the pulp and seed of Opuntia ficus-indica caused a significant reduction in the
frequency of total number of stools and wet stooling as well as in delaying the onset of diarrhea as
compared to the controls. Both extracts showed a dose-dependent inhibition (R2=0.908 for pulp
and R2 =0.994 for seed) on the castor oil induced intestinal fluid accumulation. The extracts also
showed significant (p<0.001) inhibition in intestinal motility in both normal and castor oil induced
models. In conclusion, the results obtained in this study suggest that both pulp and seed extracts
of the fruits of Opuntia ficus-inidca have beneficial effect in controlling diarrhea in experimental
rats and this provides a support for the traditional use of the plant as an antidiarrheal remedy.
Description
Keywords
Antidiarrheal activity, Castor oil induced diarrhea, Gastrointestinal transit, Antienteropooling, Opuntia ficus-inidca