The anti-diarrhoeal properties of methanol leaf extract of Anthocleista djalonensis on diarrhoea models (castor oil induced diarrhoea and castor oil induced fluid accumulation and intestinal transit models) were evaluated in rats. Five groups of five rats each were fasted for 18h and given 1ml/kg distilled water, 250, 500 and 1000mg/kg of the extract and 5mg/kg Loperamide respectively. The extracts caused a significant (p<0.001) decrease in the number of faecal matter passed and intestinal fluid accumulated in the castor oil-induced diarrhea and entreopooling models respectively, with 28.07 – 84.21% inhibition of defecation and 37.18 – 64.53% inhibition of intestinal fluid accummulation respectively in the two models. Furthermore, there was significant (p<0.01– p<0.001) decrease in intestinal transit in the castor oil-induced intestinal transit model with 28.71 - 68.51% inhibition of propulsive movement of the small intestine. From the foregoing, Anthocleista djalonensis leaf extract has been shown to inhibit the severity of diarrhoea, reduce water and electrolyte secretion into the small intestine and decrease intestinal transit. These findings lend credence to the use of the leaf of the plant in traditional medicine for the management of diarrhoea in some communities in Nigeria.
Keywords: Anthocleista Djalonensis, Diarrhoea, Castor Oil, Entreopooling, Intestinal Transit.