Antidiarrhoeal activity of rind of Punica granatum.

Punica granatum (Family: Punicaceae) is a widely consumed fruit in Bangladesh locally known as Anar or Bedana. Traditionally the plant is used to treat diarrhoea, dysentery, hemorrhage, tuberculosis and chronic periodontitis. The present study was undertaken in order to justify and authenticate the traditional use of rind of P. granatum fruit in diarrhoea. Methanolic extract of the rind of the fruit was tested in castor oil- and magnesium sulfate-induced diarrhoea in mice at the doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg body weight. The results of the present study revealed signifi-cant antidiarrhoeal activity (p<0.001) in both animal models. The extract inhibited 31.25% defaecation at the dose of 200 mg/kg and 53.75% at the dose of 400 mg/kg in castor oil-induced diarrhoea while standard drug loperamide inhibited 71.25% defaecation. In magnesium sulfate-induced diarrhoea the inhibition of defaecation was 45.71 and 57.14% at the doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg respectively while loperamide inhibited 64.29% defaecation. The antidiarr-hoeal effect of the extract was concentration dependent in both castor oil-induced diarrhoea and magnesium sulfate-induced diarrhoea. Phytochemical screening of the extract revealed the presence of flavonoids and alkaloids that may play key role in its antidiarrhoeal activity. The results of the present study validate the folkloric use of the rind of P. granatum in the treatment of diarrhoea.

Antidiarrhoeal activity of rind of Punica granatum.

Punica granatum (Family: Punicaceae) is a widely consumed fruit in Bangladesh locally known as Anar or Bedana. Traditionally the plant is used to treat diarrhoea, dysentery, hemorrhage, tuberculosis and chronic periodontitis. The present study was undertaken in order to justify and authenticate the traditional use of rind of P. granatum fruit in diarrhoea. Methanolic extract of the rind of the fruit was tested in castor oil- and magnesium sulfate-induced diarrhoea in mice at the doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg body weight. The results of the present study revealed signifi-cant antidiarrhoeal activity (p<0.001) in both animal models. The extract inhibited 31.25% defaecation at the dose of 200 mg/kg and 53.75% at the dose of 400 mg/kg in castor oil-induced diarrhoea while standard drug loperamide inhibited 71.25% defaecation. In magnesium sulfate-induced diarrhoea the inhibition of defaecation was 45.71 and 57.14% at the doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg respectively while loperamide inhibited 64.29% defaecation. The antidiarr-hoeal effect of the extract was concentration dependent in both castor oil-induced diarrhoea and magnesium sulfate-induced diarrhoea. Phytochemical screening of the extract revealed the presence of flavonoids and alkaloids that may play key role in its antidiarrhoeal activity. The results of the present study validate the folkloric use of the rind of P. granatum in the treatment of diarrhoea.

Antioxidant activities of different parts of Musa sapientum L. ssp. sylvestris fruit.

Musa sapientum L. ssp. sylvestris (Family: Musaceae) is a popular edible fruit. It is used by the traditional healers in the treatment of diarrhoea and dysentery. In the present study, methanolic extracts of peel (MSPE), pulp (MSPU) and seed (MSSE) of the fruit were investigated for in vitro antioxidant activity using DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging capacity, reducing power, CUPRAC (Cupric Reducing Antioxidant Capacity) and total antioxidant capacity. The phenolic content of the extracts were also determined. The plant extracts showed a direct concentration dependent increase in scavenging DPPH radical. MSSE showed better scavenging activity than MSPE and MSPU with an IC50 value of 54.92 μg/ml, while the standard antioxidant, ascorbic acid, showed an IC50 value of 13.75 μg/ml. The Fe3+/ferricyanide to ferrous and cupric ion reduction capacity of MSSE were better than the reference agent ascorbic acid. All three extracts showed good results in total antioxidant assay. MSSE was also found to contain good amount of phenols (244.38 mg/g of plant extract in GAE). The results of this study indicate that MSSE has strong in vitro antioxidant activity.

Antioxidant and antihyperglycemic activities of methanolic extract of Glinus oppositifolius leaves.

The present study was carried out to investigate the antioxidant and antidiabetic potential of methanolic extract of Glinus oppositifolius leaves. The antioxidant potential was examined by DPPH radical scavenging assay, nitric oxide (NO) scavenging assay, determination of total flavonoid content and total antioxidant capacity assay. Antihyperglycemic activity was studied by oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) in normal mice and in alloxan-induced diabetic mice. In DPPH radical scavenging assay the IC50 value of the extract was found to be greater than 1000 μg/ml (ascorbic acid, IC50 = 14.45 μg/ml) while it was 269 μg/ml in nitric oxide (NO) scavenging assay (quercetin IC50 = 15.24 μg/ml). The amount of total flavonoid was 25 .46 mg/g and total antioxidant activity was 79.48 mg/g equivalent to Quercetin and Ascorbic acid respectively. A significant effect (p<0.05) on oral glucose tolerance was noted at the dose of 200 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg body weight in mice. At the same doses, the extract showed significant (p<0.05) reduction of blood glucose level in Alloxan-induced diabetic mice compared to the standard drug Metformin. Overall, the results of the present study indicate that the methanolic extract of Glinus oppositifolius leaves possess moderate antioxidant activity and significant antihyperglycemic activity.

Musa paradisiaca L. and musa sapientum L. : A phytochemical and pharmacological review.

Musa paradisiaca L. and Musa sapientum L. (Musaceae) are mainly grown in the tropical and subtropical countries and are widely used for its nutritional values all over the world. The fruits as well as the other parts of the plant are used to treat different diseases in human in traditional medicine. This review presents the scientific information on the traditional uses, phytochemistry and pharmacology of these two species. Both M. paradisiaca and M. sapientum are traditionally used in diarrhoea, dysentery, intestinal lesions in ulcerative colitis, diabetes, sprue, uremia, nephritis, gout, hypertension and cardiac disease. This review reports the phytochemicals isolated and identified from fruit pulp, peel, seeds and flowers. A comprehensive assessment of the biological activities of different extracts is included and possible mechanisms and phytochemicals involved have been correlated.