Objective: The present study to carry out the anti-diarrhoeal activity of leaf extracts of Cardiospermum halicacabum and Dodonea viscosa in different experimental models of diarrhoea. Methods: The acute toxicity of the extracts were determined, LD50was calculated according to the “Up and down method” following OECD guidelines No. 425 of CPCSEA. The anti-diarrhoeal potential was assessed by cast...

We review geophagy, or soil ingestion, in primates. This behaviour is widespread and is presumed to be important to health and nutrition. Primates may engage in geophagy for one or a combination of reasons. Here we present, and make a preliminary assessment of, six nonexclusive hypotheses that may contribute to the prevalence of geophagy. Four hypotheses relate to geophagy in alleviating gastro...

The common wild fig, Ficus thonningii, is extensively used in African ethnomedicine for treating a number of disease conditions which include diarrhoea, urinary tract infections, diabetes mellitus, gonorrhoea, respiratory infections, and mental illnesses. This review aims to present a logical analysis of the nutritional, phytochemical and pharmacological properties of F. thonningii in relation ...

BACKGROUND Racecadotril is an antidiarrhoeal drug with intestinal antisecretory mechanism of action. AIM To assess racecadotril efficacy as an adjunct to oral rehydration solution, against oral rehydration solution alone or with placebo in childhood acute gastroenteritis. METHODS Individual patient data meta-analysis following multilevel mixed models testing the significance of the treatmen...

In the present review, an attempt has been made to congregate the botanical, phytochemical, ethnomedicinal, pharmacological and toxicological information on Ocimum sanctum Linn. (OS, Tulsi), a medicinal herb used in the indigenous system of medicine. OS has been adored in almost all ancient ayurvedic texts for its extraordinary medicinal properties. It is pungent and bitter in taste and hot, li...

Symptoms of colorectal disorders When investigating a patient for colorectal disorders a detailed history is important and will provide clues to the diagnosis. Symptoms arising from General-Malaise; weight loss;vomiting the large bowel tend to be non-specific and are often difficult to interpret. Abdominal-Pain (constant or colic); There is a wide variation in bowel habit, so alterations from a...

Mortality from acute diarrhoea in developed countries is low, but the morbidity and financial cost remains significant. A one-year prospective, descriptive, non-interventional, hospital-based study of acute gastroenteritis (AGE) was conducted in the year 2002 in the paediatric unit of University of Malaya Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur, an urban hospital in Malaysia, to determine its morbidity an...

This study examined the accumulation and transport of two related systemic opioids used as antidiarrhoeal drugs and compared their rates of transport with known P-glycoprotein (P-gp) substrates used in our in vitro environment. Cellular uptake and efflux and transcellular transport were all determined using Caco-2 cells after exposure to loperamide or diphenoxylate, with or without a range of e...

Bridelia micrantha is traditionally used in tropical Africa to treat a wide range of human and animal diseases. The aim of this study was to summarise the research that has been done on the ethnomedicinal uses, phytochemistry and pharmacological properties of B. micrantha so as to understand its importance and potential value in primary healthcare systems. The literature search for information ...

The analgesic and antidiarrhoeal uses of opium were known to the Sumerians and predynastic Egyptians. During 5000 years of medicinal use, opium has become associated with countries, cultures and prominent individuals, and through several modifications, remains an extensively used analgesic and addictive drug. Morphine, the principle active compound in opium, was first isolated by the German che...