Anti-diarrhoeal activity of methanolic root extract of <i> elephantopus scaber L</i>

Abstract

A study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of methanolic extract of the root of Elephantopus scaber L (MEES) against several experimental models of diarrhoea in rats. MEES showed significant inhibitory effect against castor-oil induced diarrhoea and PGE2 induced enteropooling in rats. The extract also showed a significant reduction in gastrointestinal motility in the charcoal meal test in rats. The results obtained establish the efficacy and substantiate the folkloric claim of the plant as an anti-diarrhoeal agent.