Anti-Shigellosis Activity ofCola anomalaWater/Ethanol Pods Extract onShigella flexneri-Induced Diarrhea in Rats

Abstract

This study was undertaken to evaluate the activities of water/ethanolCola anomalapods extract.In vitroantimicrobial susceptibility was determined by the disk diffusion method; the minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration were determined by agar dilution technique.In vivo, shigellosis was induced in healthy Wistar albino rats by oral administration ofShigella flexneriinoculum, 12 × 108 CFU/mL. At the onset of diarrhea, infected and normal control animals were subdivided into various groups treated with distilled water, with water/ethanolCola anomalapods extract at 25, 50, or 100 mg/kg, or with ciprofloxacin, 2.5 mg/kg. After one-week treatment, rats were sacrificed, and blood and colon were collected. Blood was used for blood cell count. A portion of the colon served for histological studies while homogenate from the remaining part was centrifuged and the supernatant was collected for the determination of NO, PGE2, IL-1β, and TNF-αlevels.In vitro, water/ethanolCola anomalapods extract showed to be bactericidal, with a minimum inhibitory concentration of 2.0 mg/mL and a minimum bactericidal concentration of 3.0 mg/mL. In diarrheic rats, the extract significantly (P<0.01) increased the white blood cells and significantly (P<0.01) decreased stoolShigelladensity from the first to the seventh day of treatment. It partially restored the structure of eroded intestine epithelium and prevented weight loss; the dose dependently and significantly (P<0.001) decreased NO, IL-1β, and TNF-αproduction in the colon and was found to have no significant effect on PGE2production. These results support the use of this plant in traditional medicine in the treatment of gastrointestinal ailments.