Comparative study of Acacia nilotica and Acacia sinuata for diuretic activity

Diuretics increase the rate of urine outflow and sodium excretion and are used to adjust the volume and composition of body fluids in a variety of clinical situations including hypertension, heart failure, renal failure, nephritic syndrome and cirrhosis. Some naturally used diuretic plants are Abrus precatorius, Centella asiatica, Allium sepa, Allium sativum, Aloe barbidensis, Cinnamomum verum etc. Traditionally Acacia nilotica is used as anti-cancer, astringent, antioxidant, antispasmodial, diuretic and antidiarrhoeal. Acacia sinuata is used in the treatment of skin disease, burning sensation, constipation, calculi, hemorrhoids, vitiligo, eczema and malaria fever. The present study was undertaken to investigate diuretic effect of ethanolic and methanolic extracts of stem bark of Acacia nilotica and pods of Acacia sinuata in wistar rats. The extracts were administered orally at a dose of 300mg/kg. Furosemide (20mg/kg) was used as reference standard and normal saline (25 ml/kg) was used as control. Total urine volume and concentration of Na , K + and Cl excreted in urine were estimated. It was concluded that both ethanolic and methanolic extracts of Acacia nilotica and Acacia sinuata showed significant diuretic activity. Acacia nilotica showed more potent diuretic activity than Acacia sinuata and of these, ethanolic extract showed more significant activity than methanolic extract.