3 Antibiotics are the major remedy for infectious diseases including diarrhoea; however, significant increase in the resistance to antibiotics has been observed in common human selleck screening library pathogens worldwide. Similarly, oral rehydration therapy (ORT) is a key factor in the decline of child mortality due to diarrhoea but notwithstanding, the incidence

of the disease has remained unchanged and this treatment (ORT) often fails in the state of high stool output. In view of these, there is the need to search for plants with anti-diarrhoeal effect. Persea americana has been shown to possess medicinal properties. The aqueous leaf extract, for example, has analgesic and anti-inflammatory, anti-convulsant, hypoglycaemic, hypocholesterolaemic, vasorelaxant and blood pressure-reducing activities in animal studies. 4 It is alleged to stimulate and regulate menstruation. The leaf decoction is taken as a remedy for diarrhoea, sore throat and haemorrhage. 4 The present study was http://www.selleckchem.com/products/kpt-330.html undertaken to evaluate the acute toxicity and anti-diarrhoeal effect of the chloroform–methanol extract of the seeds of P. americana in castor oil-induced diarrhoeal

rats. Fresh fruit of P. americana were got from their trees at various points in Iheakpu–Awka, Igbo Eze South Local Government Area of Enugu State, Nigeria. The fruit seeds were identified by Mr. A. Ozioko of Bioresource Development and Conservation Programme (BDCP) Research Centre, Nsukka. Fresh fruit of P. americana were plucked, split open with knife and the seeds removed. The seeds were washed with distilled water and sliced with knife. The sliced Dipeptidyl peptidase seeds were spread on a clean mat in a well-ventilated room with regular turning to enhance even drying and avoid decaying. The sliced seeds were shade-dried for 8 weeks. The shade-dried sliced seeds were pulverised with an electric blender and a known weight (1380 g) of the pulverised P. americana seeds was macerated in 5 volumes (w/v) of chloroform–methanol (2:1) for 24 h. The mixture was separated with Whatman No 1 filter paper. The filtrate of the macerate was shaken with distilled

water that measured 20% its volume to obtain two (2) fractions. The upper fraction (methanol fraction) was separated from the lower fraction (chloroform fraction). The methanol and the chloroform fractions were concentrated in a rotary evaporator, dried in a boiling water bath and weighed. Adult male Wistar rats of between 8 and 12 weeks old with average weight of 125 ± 25 g and albino mice weighing 25 ± 4 g were obtained from the Animal house of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. The animals were acclimatised for one week under a standard environmental condition with a 12 h light and dark cycle and maintained on a regular feed and water ad libitum. The Principles of Laboratory Animal Care were adhered to.