An <i>in vitro</i> study on the oxytocic action of <i>Adenia Globosa</i> Engl.

Abstract

Adenia spp. (Passifloraceae) grows widely in many parts of Eastern and Southern Africa. Though some species of the plant are known to be generally toxic, a few of them are used in traditional medical practices. Among the many uses is the claim that when given to goats and cows which have difficulty in giving birth, it hastens the process of giving birth. We found this of interest and set out to investigate it further. We determined the effect of the water extract of Adenia globosa on the isolated preparation of the rat uterus and how this action interacts with ergometrine and prostaglandin F2α, two well-established uterine stimulants. The crude extract and the other drugs were tested on isolated rat uterus set up in an organ bath under the usual laboratory conditions. The results obtained showed that the plant extract caused a dose-dependent contraction of the rat uterus. The contractile effect was potentiated by small doses of ergometrine and prostaglandin F2α. It was therefore postulated that since prostaglandin F-2α also exists as an endogenous hormone which is released at the time of labour, the observed potentiation probably occurs in vivo when the plant preparation is given to domestic animals to ease and speed up the process of giving birth as claimed in the traditional use of this plant. These results therefore provide scientific justification for the traditional usage of the plant preparation.

Keywords: Adenia globosa; traditional medicine; oxytocic action; rat uterus; ergometrine; prostaglandin F_2α.