THE ANTI-DIARRHEAL EFFECTS OF WHOLE PLANT EXTRACTS OF VIOLA BETONICIFOLIA AGAINST MAGNESIUM SULPHATE INDUCED DIARRHEA IN PIGEONS

Abstract

Background: Diarrhea is still a major health problem worldwide, especially in developing countries which experience high morbidity and mortality rates from it. Banafsha (Viola betonicifolia) has been used in traditional medicine of the Indo-Pak sub-continent for treating gastrointestinal disorders such as diarrhoea, however this is not scientifically supported. In this study, the anti-diarrheal activity of the aqueous whole plant extract of Viola betonicifolia was investigated in the magnesium sulphate induced diarrhoea model in pigeons. Methods: The method used was maceration of dried powdered plant material in distilled water, filtration and evaporation to yield crude extract (3.1kg of dried powdered plant material gave 52g of crude extract in 14 days). A total of 60 healthy pigeons (250-350g) of both sexes were divided into six groups (n=8): Distilled water (negative control), loperamide (0.2 mg/kg, as positive control) and metronidazole (7 mg/kg, as positive control), and VBAE (Groups IV-VI) 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg, respectively. The drugs were injected into the muscle and diarrhea was produced 30 minutes after magnesium sulphate (2 mg/kg, orally) was given. Anti-diarrheal activity was evaluated during 6 hours using four parameters, as the time to first stool, latency to first stool, the number of stool and stool weight, the number of watery stool was scored. Results: The result demonstrated that the dose dependent anti-diarrheal activity of the VBAE is significant. At 200 mg/kg, the extract significantly prolonged latency to first stool (27±2.30 minutes vs. 7.45±0.69 minutes in control, p<0.001), reduced the number of watery stools (5.43±1.44 vs. 12.27±0.15, p<0.001), and decreased total stool weight (3348.39±43.30 mg vs. 16613.31±17.32 mg, p<0.001). The 100 mg/kg dose also showed significant effects on latency (23±2.02 minutes, p<0.001), stool count (10±1.44, p<0.05), and stool weight (5023.83±37.53 mg, p<0.001), while the 50 mg/kg dose was less effective. The anti-diarrheal effects were comparable to standard drugs loperamide and metronidazole, particularly at the highest dose. Conclusion: Aqueous extract of Viola betonicifolia exhibits a significant dose dependent anti-diarrheal activity against magnesium sulphate induced diarrhea in pigeon which may be due to anti-motility and anti-secretory activity. The results of this study validate the traditional application of this plant in diarrheal diseases and indicate the potential of this plant as a source of natural anti-diarrheal agents.