Antibacterial, Toxicological and Antidiarrheal Evaluation of Leaf Extracts of Cissampelos owariensis

Abstract

The antibacterial, toxicological and antidiarrheal activities of the extracts of Cissampelos owariensis were investigated. The plant extracts were prepared by cold merceration method using water and ethanol and screened against Escherichia coli, Salmonella Typhi and Shigella dysenteriae using the agar well diffusion method. The LD50 of the extract was determined using locke’s method. The antidiarrheal effect was evaluated against castor oil induced diarrhea in experimental rats. The result of the study revealed the presence of secondary metabolites such as tannins, resins, flavonoid, Saponins, steroids and terpenes and glycosides. The extracts showed activities against the test organisms with diameter of zones of inhibition ranging from 9mm to 16mm. Ethanol extract demonstrated stronger activity against the test organisms. Toxicity studies of the extracts revealed that the plant exhibited no significant toxicity as no signs of toxicity such as inactiveness, dizziness or mortality was observed even at the highest dose of 5000mg/kg body weight. The antidiarrheal assay shows that the test is dose dependent as there was significant reduction in the number of defaecation and wet faecal matter in comparison to control. The percentage inhibition of the ethanol extract at higher dose level of 400mg/ml/kg body weight and 200mg/ml/kg body weight was found to be 72.41% and 31.93% respectively. These results suggest that the plant may not be toxic to man and could be a potential source of novel antidiarrheal agents. Based on the result of this research work, it is therefore recommended that the synergistic effect of the plant extract in combination with antibiotics and non-antibiotic-antidiarrheal agents respectively be evaluated.