Medicinal plants have a long history of being used to treat human diseases. This study was aimed at assessing the antidiarrheal activity of the aqueous leaf extract of Petiveria alliacea L. (AEPA) in albino rats with castor oil-induced experimental diarrhoea. Standard procedures were employed to conduct phytochemical screening of the AEPA. Diarrhoea was experimentally induced in five groups of rats (Groups 1 to 5) using castor oil. The rats were orally pre-treated with different substances: 2 mg/kg of normal saline as the diarrheal group, 5 mg/kg of loperamide as the positive group, and 100, 200, and 400 mg/kg of AEPA as the treatment groups before inducing diarrhoea. The effects of AEPA on castor oil-induced diarrhoea, gastrointestinal transit, and intestinal fluid collection (enteropooling) were evaluated. Phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of alkaloids, terpenoids, flavonoids, saponins, and tannins in the AEPA. Pre-treatment with AEPA significantly (p˂0.05) inhibited castor oil-induced diarrhoea compared to the diarrheal group. The study suggests that AEPA has an antidiarrheal effect against castor oil-induced diarrhoea in albino rats. This effect may be attributed to the presence of secondary metabolites in the plant extract.
Key words: Petiveria alliacea, Antidiarrheal activity, Castor oil, Intestinal transit, Rats
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