Antidiarrhoeal activity of aqueous leaf extract of Caladium bicolor (Araceae) and its possible mechanisms of action

Caladium bicolor (Araceae) is a horticulture plant also used by some traditional medicine practitioners in the treatment of diarrhoea and other gastrointestinal disorders. This study was conducted to evaluate the antidiarrhoeal activity of the aqueous leaf extract of C. bicolor and its possible mech...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Journal of ethnopharmacology Vol. 176; pp. 225 - 231
Main Authors:	Salako, Olanrewaju A., Akindele, Abidemi J., Shitta, Omotoyosi M., Elegunde, Olajumoke O., Adeyemi, Olufunmilayo O.
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Ireland Elsevier Ireland Ltd 24-12-2015
Subjects:	Adrenergic alpha-2 Receptor Agonists - pharmacology Adrenergic alpha-2 Receptor Agonists - therapeutic use Adrenergic alpha-2 Receptor Agonists - toxicity Adrenergic alpha-2 Receptor Antagonists - pharmacology Animals Antidiarrheals - pharmacology Antidiarrheals - therapeutic use Antidiarrheals - toxicity Antidiarrhoeal activity Araceae Caladium bicolor Castor Oil Diarrhea - chemically induced Diarrhea - drug therapy Diarrhea - metabolism Female Gastric Emptying - drug effects Gastrointestinal Transit - drug effects Intestinal Secretions - metabolism Male Mechanisms of action Mice Muscarinic Agonists - pharmacology Muscarinic Antagonists - pharmacology Muscarinic Antagonists - therapeutic use Muscarinic Antagonists - toxicity Muscarinic receptors Phytotherapy Pilocarpine - pharmacology Plant Extracts - pharmacology Plant Extracts - therapeutic use Plant Extracts - toxicity Plant Leaves - chemistry Rats Toxicity Tests, Acute Water - chemistry Yohimbine - pharmacology α2-adrenoceptors Mechanisms of action Araceae α2-adrenoceptors Muscarinic receptors Caladium bicolor Antidiarrhoeal activity α-adrenoceptors
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Summary:	Caladium bicolor (Araceae) is a horticulture plant also used by some traditional medicine practitioners in the treatment of diarrhoea and other gastrointestinal disorders. This study was conducted to evaluate the antidiarrhoeal activity of the aqueous leaf extract of C. bicolor and its possible mechanisms of action in rodents. Normal and castor oil-induced intestinal transit and castor oil-induced diarrhoea tests were carried out in mice while gastric emptying and enteropooling tests were conducted in rats following the administration of distilled water (10ml/kg, p.o.), C. bicolor extract (1–50mg/kg, p.o.) and loperamide (5mg/kg, p.o.). The probable mechanisms of action of C. bicolor was investigated following pre-treatment with yohimbine (10mg/kg, s.c.; α2-adrenoceptor antagonist), pilocarpine (1mg/kg, s.c.; non-selective muscarinic receptor agonist), prazosin (1mg/kg, s.c.; α1-adrenoceptor antagonist) and propranolol (1mg/kg, i.p.; non-selective β-adrenoceptor antagonist) 15min prior to administration of C. bicolor extract (50mg/kg, p.o.). After 30min of pre-treatment with these drugs, the mice were subjected to the castor oil-induced intestinal transit test. C. bicolor extract did not produce significant (p>0.05) effect on normal intestinal transit unlike loperamide which caused significant (p<0.001) inhibition (61.57%). The extract caused significant (p<0.001) dose-dependent inhibition of castor oil-induced intestinal transit with peak effect, 100% inhibition, elicited at the dose of 50mg/kg compared to 86.97% inhibition for loperamide. Yohimbine and pilocarpine most significantly (p<0.001) reversed this effect of the extract. In the castor oil-induced diarrhoea test, the extract (1mg/kg) and loperamide significantly (p<0.05, 0.01) delayed the onset of diarrhoea. For diarrhoea score, the extract (1 and 50mg/kg) inhibited diarrhoea development (47.53% and 43.83% inhibition, respectively) like loperamide (5mg/kg; 54.94%). The in vivo antidiarrhoeal index of the extract at 1 and 50mg/kg was 50.07% and 42.81% respectively compared to 58.15% for loperamide. The results obtained in this study suggest that the aqueous leaf extract of C. bicolor possess antidiarrhoeal activity due to its anti-motility effect possibly via antagonist action on intestinal muscarinic receptors and agonist action on intestinal α2-adrenoceptors. This justifies the use of the extract in traditional medicine for the treatment of diarrhoea. [Display omitted]
ISSN:	0378-8741 1872-7573
DOI:	10.1016/j.jep.2015.10.035