Anti-diarrhea Effect of Aqueous Extracts of Momordica balsamina and

Momordica balsamina and Stachytarpheta indica are used in Nigeria for the management of diarrhea. Crude extract of Leaves and stem of M. balsamina and whole plant of S. indica were evaluated on perfused isolated rabbit jejunum and castor oil-induced diarrhea model in rats. The aqueous crude extract of M. balsamina (0.4, 0.8 and 1.6 mg/ml) produced a dose dependent transient contractile response followed by relaxation of isolated rabbit jejunum. S. indica (0.2, 0.4 and 0.8 mg/ml) produced dose dependent sustained contraction without relaxation. In the castor oil-induced diarrhea model, 87.5 and 64.5 % protections were produced by extracts of M. balsamina and S. indica respectively. These results revealed that the aqueous extracts of M. balsamina (0.1, 0.25 and 1.0 g/Kg) and S. indica (1.5 and 3.0 g/Kg) have antidiarrhea activity, with M. balsamina exhibiting greater potency. Their effects on smooth muscle showed that M. balsamina will be more useful than S. indica in the management of diarrhea. The effect of M. balsamina was comparable to that of loperamide, a strong antidiarrhea drug, in castor oil induced diarrhea. It can not be concluded that the extract of S. indica has antidiarrhea effect since the results from the two methods used were contradictory. This may partially explain their use in traditional medicine for the treatment of diarrhea. Investigations on the traditional use of S. indic