International Journal of Bioassays ISSN: 2278-778X CODEN: IJBNHY Original Research Article OPEN ACCESS *Corresponding Author: Oseni Lateef Adebayo, Senior Lecturer & Vice-Dean, Faculty of Applied Sciences, University For Development Studies, Navrongo campus, Navrongo, Ghana. 3358 AN IN VIVO ASSESSMENT OF ANTI-DIARHEAL ACTIVITY OF SOLVENT EXTRACTS OF LEAF AND STEM BARK OF GHANAIAN PARKIA BIGLOBOSA AGAINST CASTOR OIL-INDUCED DIARRHEA IN ALBINO RATS Oseni Lateef Adebayo*, Safianu Marzuk and Seidu Ibrahim Mumuni Department of Applied Chemistry and Biochemistry, University for Development Studies, Navrongo Campus, Box 24, Navrongo, Ghana. Received for publication: May 17, 2014; Revised: June 21, 2014; Accepted: August 22, 2014 INTRODUCTION Diarrhea is an increase in the frequency of bowel movements, an increase in the looseness of stool or both. Severe diarrhea leads to fluid loss, and may be life-threatening, particularly in young children, malnourished people and those with impaired immunity. Diarrhea is second only to pneumonia in infant mortality (UNICEF/WHO, 2009). It kills more young children than AIDS, malaria and measles combined, (WHO/UNICEF, 2009). According to the World Health Organization (WHO, 2001), phytomedicine is defined as herbal preparations produced by subjecting plant materials to extraction, fractionation, purification, concentration or other physical or biological processes. These preparations may be produced for immediate consumption or as the basis for other herbal products. Traditional medicine is a major African socio-cultural heritage. It has been used to treat various diseases in Africa including diarrhea. Although synthetic or chemical drugs can have greater or quicker effects than do equivalent traditional medicines, they present a higher degree of side effects and risks, (Odama et al., 1997). These shortcomings include their toxicity, the ability of organisms to develop resistance to the drugs previously known to be effective, and loss of potency of the drug with time. On the other hand, the merits of herbal medicine over orthodox drugs include; minimal or no side effects on the organic functioning of the body, consistent potency, and the fact that they are well absorbed and distributed in the area of infection (Cheij, 1988; Nkere, 2003; Okigbo and Omodamiro, 2006). Different medicinal plants have been employed in the treatment of various ailments across the globe, especially in Africa. Medicinal plants also present the basis for the development of many synthetic drugs. Despite reports on traditional use of medicinal plants, only a few of these plants or their phytochemical constituents have been proven scientifically to have medicinal value. Parkia biglobosa is common perennial plant in the nothern part of Ghana. The plant has widely been used in the Ghanaian and other West African rural communities to treat a variety of diseases including malaria, inflammatory diseases, and diarrhea. In spite of the wide use of this plant in managing diarrheal conditions, there has been little scientific data available to support these claims. The present research was aimed at screening for phytochemicals present in ethanolic and aqueous leaf and stem bark extracts of Parkia biglobosa and evaluating the anti-diarrheal activity of these extracts against castor oil-induced diarrhea in albino rats. Abstract: Parkia biglobosa is a wild plant belonging to family Fabaceae. The plant has widely been reported for its medicinal properties and used traditionally in the northern part of Ghana in the management of diarrhea. The present study evaluated the phytochemical profile, acute toxicity and anti-diarrheal effects of aqueous and ethanolic leaf and stem bark extracts of P. biglobosa against castor oil-induced diarrhea in albino rats. Preliminary phytochemical screening revealed the presence of reducing sugars, tannins, cardiac glycosides, anthocyanosides and terpenes in both leaf and stem bark. Flavonoids and saponins were only found in the leaf extracts. Alkaloids and anthraquinones were only found in the stem bark. The LD50 of the extracts was found to be greater than 5000mg per kg body weight of the rats. The extracts induced a dose dependent anti-diarrheal effect at 200, 600 and 1000 mg per kg body weight by significantly (p<0.05) reducing the frequency of stooling in castor oil-induced diarrhea. The anti-diarrheal activities of the various extracts were significant (p<0.05) compared with the control. Diarrheal droppings were completely eliminated at dose 1000mg per kg body weight after five hours. The antidiarrheal activity of the extracts at dose 1000mg per kg body weight was comparable to that of the standard drug loperamide at 2mg per kg body weight. Results from this study show that aqueous and ethanolic extracts of P. biglobosa leaf and stem bark possess anti-diarrheal effects on castor oil-induced diarrhea models and this scientifically validates its traditional use in the management diarrheal conditions. Key Words: Parkia biglobosa, phyotchemicals, anti-diarrheal, castor oil-induced model, albino rats