Anti-diarrheal and hypoglycemic activities of methanol extract of Calamus rotang L. seed in rat

Background and objectives: Calamus rotang is used in traditional medicine. Regarding the previous phytochemical screening of methanol extract of Calamus rotang L. fruits (MCR), this study was performed to find out the antidiarrheal and hypoglycemic effects of the experimented extract in rodents. Methods: Castor oil induced diarrheal test was followed for screening anti-diarrheal effect of MCR. In order to explore the hypoglycemic effect, normoglycemic study, oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and study on alloxan-induced diabetic rats were carried out. In each experiment, 250 and 500 mg/kg body weight doses of MCR were used. Results: The plant extract showed pronounced, significant (p < 0.01) antidiarrheal activity on both doses in a dose-dependent manner. At higher dose, MCR showed almost similar antidiarrheal effect as standard loperamide.  In case of normoglycemic test, a single dose of MCR caused a significant (p<0.01) reduction in blood glucose level over time compared to the control group. Although metformin reduced blood glucose more rapidly than MCR at both doses, its extent of reduction in blood glucose level was approximately the same as high dose. In OGTT, MCR was active and comparable to that of the glucose treated control group in both doses.  For alloxan induced diabetic rodents, the study revealed that the MCR extracts could decrease the blood glucose level in both doses over a period of three days. Conclusion: Considering the results of the present study, further isolation of active components and establishment of the mechanism of action have to be continued in the future.