Antidiarrheal activity of ethanolic extract of Manihot esculenta Crantz leaves in Wistar rats

BACKGROUND: Use of Manihot esculenta Crantz (MEC) plant has been mentioned in literature of Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations, Central Tuber Crops Research Institute and many others. It is also known commonly as tapioca, continues to be a crop of food security for the millions of people, especially in the developing countries of the globe including India. Medicinal uses of this plant including diarrhea have been mentioned in literature, but scientific evidence is lacking. OBJECTIVE: The objective was to study antidiarrheal activity of ethanolic leaf extract of MEC in Wistar rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ethanolic extract of MEC leaves in the doses of 50 mg/kg, 100 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg were used in Wistar rats of either sex. Experimental models used were castor oil-induced intestinal fluid accumulation and charcoal passage test. Loperamide and atropine sulfate were the standard drugs used in these models respectively. RESULTS: MEC extracts decreased intestinal fluid volume in dose dependent manner no extract group was comparable with standard drug loperamide (5 mg/kg). MEC extracts also significantly inhibited gastrointestinal motility in dose dependent manner. MEC (100 mg/kg) and MEC (200 mg/kg) were comparable with standard drug atropine sulfate (5 mg/kg) in this aspect. <0.05 were considered to be significant. CONCLUSIONS: Ethanolic extract of MEC leaves exhibited significant antidiarrheal activity by decreasing intestinal fluid accumulation and the gastrointestinal motility in Wistar rats.