Kebamo et al., Med chem 2015, 5:11 DOI: 10.4172/2161-0444.1000304 Research Article Open Access Med chem ISSN: 2161-0444 Med chem, an open access journal Volume 5(11): 472-478 (2015) - 472 Evaluation of Diuretic Activity of Different Solvent Fractions of Methanol Extract of Carissa edulis Root Bark in Rats Selamu Kebamo 1 , Eyasu Makonnen 2 , Asfaw Debella 3 and Bekesho Geleta 3 * 1 Department of Pharmacology, Wollega University, Nekemte, Ethiopia 2 Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 3 Directorate of Traditional and Modern Medicine Research, Ethiopian Public Health Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia *Corresponding author: Bekesho Geleta, Directorate of Traditional and Modern Medicine Research, Ethiopian Public Health Institute, PO Box 1242, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Tel: +251911091969; E-mail: bekeshog@gmail.com Received October 17, 2015; Accepted October 28, 2015; Published October 31, 2015 Citation: Kebamo S, Makonnen E, Debella A, Geleta B (2015) Evaluation of Diuretic Activity of Different Solvent Fractions of Methanol Extract of Carissa edulis Root Bark in Rats. Med chem 5: 472-478. doi: 10.4172/2161-0444.1000304 Copyright: © 2015 Kebamo S, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Keywords: Urine output; Urinary electrolyte; Acute toxicity Introduction Traditional medicine is used in every country in the world, and has been relied upon to support, promote, retain and regain human health for millennia [1,2]. Between 70% and 95% of citizens in a majority of developing countries, especially those in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East, rely primarly on traditional medicinal practices including the use of herbal remedies to address majority of their health- care needs and concerns [1,3,4]. Medicinal plants are used worldwide in the traditional management of some renal diseases and have a wide application as diuretic agents [5,6]. Te diuretic activity of a number of plants used in ethnomedicine has been confrmed in experimental animal models [5]. Te safety and efcacy of these plants for their claimed medicinal use, however, have not been extensively studied and remain to be in light of further investigation. Te techniques of preparation employed by traditional healers are generally not standardized and in most cases do not comply with the requirement of good manufacturing practice [7]. Carissa edulis (Forssk) Vahl (syn. Carissa spinarum L.) (Apocynaceae) is a thorny shrub widespread in Africa, Australia, Vietnam, Yemen and India [8,9]. Te plant bears sweet edible fruits, while its pungent root and leaf is used locally for a variety of medicinal purposes. Tese include the treatment of HIV/AIDS symptoms [10,11], tuberculosis [12], chest complaints, rheumatism, headache, gonorrhea, syphilis, rabies, as diuretic [13], snake bite, evil eye, malaria [14], epilepsy, abdominal pain and chronic joint pain [15,16]. Some of these traditionally claimed uses of the plant were also scientifcally reported by diferent scholars. Its root bark and leaf were reported to show diferent degree of antibacterial activity against diferent bacterial species [12,17,18]. It has also been previously reported that the aqueous extract from its root bark possesses Abstract Background: Carissa edulis is used traditionally for the treatment of HIV/AIDS symptoms, rheumatism, gonorrhea, syphilis, rabies, malaria, epilepsy, chronic joint pain, and as a diuretic. Objective: The present study investigates the diuretic activity of different solvent fractions of 80% methanol Soxhlet extract of Carissa edulis root bark in normal wistar rats. Materials and methods: The volumes of urine output and urinary electrolyte were the parameters determined by oral administration of single doses of different solvent fractions of 80% methanol Soxhlet extract of Carissa edulis root bark at three dose levels (50, 500 and 1000 mg/kg) in normal wistar rats. Results: The petroleum ether and n-butanol fractions showed no signifcant effect on the urine output and urinary excretion of K + and Cl - at all tested doses. Urinary excretion of Na + was, however, affected by the petroleum ether fraction (p<0.002 at 1000 mg/kg) and n-butanol fraction (p<0.05 at 50 mg/kg; p<0.03 1000 mg/kg). The aqueous fraction signifcantly increased urine output in a dose dependent manner (p<0.005 at 50 mg/kg; p<0.001 at 500 and 1000 mg/kg). It also signifcantly increased urinary excretion of Na + (p<0.006 at 500 mg/kg; p<0.001 at 1000 mg/kg) and Cl - (p<0.05 at 50 mg/kg; p<0.001 at 500 and 1000 mg/kg) in a dose dependent manner. Moreover, the aqueous fraction produced no acute toxicity at the assayed dose, which was also consistent with previous results from mice model. Conclusion: These fndings collectively indicate that aqueous fraction exhibited signifcant diuretic activity, providing evidence, at least in part, for its folkloric use. signifcant anti-herpes simplex virus activity in vitro and in vivo [19]. It is traditionally used in management of malaria. Te in vitro study conducted showed that the methanol extract of the root bark has a mild antiplasmodial activity against some strains of P. falciparum [20,21]. In addition; its leaves were found to exhibit a mild hypoglycemic efect in streptozotocin induced diabetic rats [22]. Te aqueous extracts of diferent parts of the plant were reported to show almost equivalent and at times better analgesic activity in comparison with aspirin [23]. Te traditional use of Carissa edulis (C. edulis) as anticonvulsant is supported by studies conducted on animal models. Te aqueous extract and hydro-alcoholic fractions of the plant’s root bark have shown comparatively appreciable anticonvulsant activity [24,25]. Te chloroform extract of the aerial part of the plant shows the highest diuretic efect. On the other hand, the aqueous extract exerts a signifcant decrease in the arterial blood pressure at a dose of 200 mg/ kg while the petroleum ether extract produces the highest decrease in heart rate at the same dose [26]. Te methanol extracts of root parts of M e d i c i n a l c h e m i s t r y ISSN: 2161-0444 Medicinal chemistry