Abstract

The methanolic extract of Phyllanthus acidus pulp was screened in the present study to explore pharmacological activities on laboratory animals. The hypoglycemic activity was assessed by glucose tolerance test and the antidiarrheal activity was evaluated by castor oil induced diarrhea inhibition method. The analgesic and anesthetic activity was determined by Tail immersion method and Thiopental sodium induced sleeping time method, respectively. The extract showed significant (P<0.05) blood glucose activity at 500 mg/kg of body weight. The extract at both doses showed pronounced antidiarrheal activity and inhibited the average number of defecation by 54.24% (P<0.05) and 10.17% at both doses, respectively. In Tail-immersion test, the extract showed significant (P<0.05) analgesic activity at both doses. The extract also showed good CNS anesthetic activity to the experimental animal. It was concluded that from this study, the methanolic extract of P. acidus have potential different pharmacological activities and justify its use in folkloric medicines.

Key words: Phyllanthus acidus, hypoglycemic, anti-diarrheal, analgesic, anesthetic.