Antidiarrhoeal effect of the crude methanol extract of the dried fruit of Adansonia digitata L. (Malvaceae)

Aim: The study was designed to evaluate the antidiarrhoeal property of the methanol extract of the fruit of Adansonia digitata using laboratory animal models. Materials and Methods: The acute oral toxicity (LD50) of the extract was determined in mice, while the antidiarrhoeal effect of different doses of the extract was evaluated in both mice and rats. The effect of the extract at doses of 300, 700 and 1000 mg/kg were tested against intestinal transit time, magnesium sulphate-induced gastrointestinal motility test and castor oil-induced diarrhoea, respectively in mice. Similarly, the extract at the doses mentioned above was evaluated against castor-oil induced enteropooling in rats. Results: The methanol extract of A. digitata was shown to have no toxic effect in mice at doses up to 5000 mg/kg. At doses of 300 and 700 mg/kg the extract significantly (p