ANTIDIARRHOEAL ACTIVITY OF STEM EXTRACT AND FRACTIONS OF HOMALIUM LETESTUI
Homalium letestui Pellegr (Flacourtiaceae) is used traditionally by the Ibibios of Southern Nigeria to treat stomach ulcer, malaria and other inflammatory diseases. The effects of ethanol stem extract of H. letestui (200 – 600 mg/kg) and fractions (Aqueous and Dichloromethane, 400 mg/kg) on experimentally induced diarrhoea were studied in rats.The extract (200 – 600 mg/kg)and fractions (400 kg) considerably inhibited castor oil induced diarrhoea, small intestine transit time and castor oil induced fluid accumulation in a dose dependent fashion.The various degrees of inhibitions were statistically significant(p<0.05, 0.01, 0.001).The effects of the extract/fraction were comparable to that of the standard drugs used with the dichloromethane fraction exerting the highest activity.Thus,H. letestui extract demonstrated a good antidiarrhoeal activity which supports the use of this plant in the traditional medicine