ANTIDIARRHOEAL EFFECT OF CASUARINA EQUISETIFOLIA ON EXPERIMENTAL ANIMALS

Current investigation was to evaluate antidiarrhoeal effect of Casuarina equisetifolia. Anti-diarrhoeal activity of methanol bark extract of Casuarina equisetifolia (CEME) studied on experimentally induced diarrhea in rats, castor oil-induced diarrhoea & enteropooling, meal transit time, and PGE2-induced entropooling. The CEME orally administered at doses 100, 200, and 400 mg/kg/atropine 0.1 mg/kg/ received control, respectively, were administered 30 min prior to the administration of castor oil. The CEME 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg/atropine 0.1 mg/kg/ received control to rats fed with as charcoal meal. Thirty minutes later, the intestinal distances moved by the charcoal were measured. The PGE2-induced enteropooling rats were treated with CEME orally at 100, 200, and 400 mg/kg/loperamide 2.5 mg/kg/1 ml of 5% v/v ethanol in normal saline, afterward PGE2 was administered orally to each rat, and intestine fluid volume was measured. The CEME 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg produced inhibition on the frequency of defecation by 33.89%, 42.66%, 59.64 %) and in diarrhoeic drops 35.83%, 43.06%, 49.72%. In PGE2-induced entropooling, intraluminal fluid accumulation reduced significantly. The charcoal meal transit time was significantly reduced, at CEME 100 mg/kg. Further at CEME 400 mg increased intestinal motility charcoal meal. The result shows that administration of CEME  in rats  causes antidiarrhoeal effect by reducing the total number of faeces, water content of faeces,inhibition of defecation, inhibition of diarrhoeic drops, and weight of intestinal content intestinal fluid volume and also increases the diarrhoeal onset time. From the above observation, it was concluded that CEME extracts exhibit significant dose-dependent antidiarrhoeal activity.