Antidiarrhoeal effect of the crude methanol extract of the dried fruit of L. (Malvaceae) Adansonia digitata

Materials and Methods Diarrhoeal disease is a potential cause of morbidity and mortality especially in children and young animals in the developing countries [1]. Traditional medicinal plants are widely employed in most developing countries for treating diarrhoea [2]. Treatment of diarrhoea is generally non-specific and usually aimed at reducing the discomfort and inconvenience of frequent bowel movements [3]. Most modern antidiarrhoeal agents are beyond the reach of the common man in developing countries. In addition, they have some levels of toxic effect [4,5]. To overcome the menace of diarrhoeal disease in developing countries, the World Health Organization (WHO) has included a programme for the control of diarrhoea, which involves the use of traditional herbal medicine [6]. L. (Malvaceae), popularly called baobab tree is widely distributed in hot savannah regions of sub-Saharan Africa. In India, powdered leaves are used to reduce excessive perspiration. The fruit is used internally with butter milk to manage cases of diarrhoea and dysentery. The efficacy of on microbial infection had been demonstrated [7]. The plant has a variety of medicinal uses which have been well documented [8]. In Nigeria, the plant is found mostly in the northern part of the country. Aqueous extract prepared from the bark of the plant is used in Nigerian traditional medicine for the treatment of fever [9]. The aqueous extract of the stem-bark of produced a significant chemosuppressive effect against infection in mice [10]. The powder obtained from the fruit of the plant is used traditionally to treat dysentery and diarrhoea in Nigeria [11]. The present study was aimed at investigating the potential antidiarrhoeal effect of the fruit of in and model.