Abstract

IKE Chibueze Jeremiah, Nwankwo Azubuike A., IFEBI Hope Morris Nchekwube*, Elebeke Kaosisonna Chris, Nnedum Chinenye Henrietta

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Alchornea laxiflora is a shrub which is widely distributed through Africa. It is one of the African medicinal plants used in treatment of some illments. The leave methanol extract and fractions of the plant were evaluated for antidiarrhea activity as part of effect to authenticate its oral claims scientifically. Method: Pulverized leaves (400 g) were cold macerated in methanol (1 liter) to obtain the crude extract. The extract was fractionated using liquid-liquid partitioning to obtain n-hexane, ethyl acetate and n-butanol fractions. The crude extract and its fractions were screened for phytochemical constituents using standard procedures. Acute toxicity (LD50) of the crude extract was determined using Lorke’s method.Standard procedures were used to determine the antidiarrhea activity. Adult albino wister mice was used for the study. The mice were starved for 18h having access to drinking water only. The test groups were treated with 50, 100 and 250 mg/kg of the crude extract and fractions while the negeitive controls and positive controls were given distilled water (10 ml/kg) and loperamide (2 mg/kg.) respectively. Thirty minutes after the treatment, diarrhea was induced by oral administration of 0.5 ml castor oil. The time of onset of diarrhea, number and weight of wet stool were noted. Gastrointestinal motility and enteropooling studies were also determined using standard procedures. Results: Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenoids and cardiac glycosides. The LD50 was calculated to be ? 5000 mg/kg. The crude extract and n-hexane fraction (100 and 250 mg/kg.) significantly (p