Abstract:
Garcinia kola seed has been used locally for the treatment of many different disorders including gastrointestinal disorders like diarrhea, but its precise mechanism of action is not well investigated. In this study the effect of aqueous extract of Garcinia kola seed was studied on smooth muscle preparation in vitro.
METHODS: Fresh Garcinia Kola seeds were used in this study. Two different concentrations of the extract were prepared (10mg/ml and 15mg/ml) and their volumes were varied. After about 24 hrs of fasting, each Rabbit was then euthanized. The abdomen was immediately opened using forceps (laparatomy) and the Rabbit’s ileum about 2-3cm in length were excised and washed with tyrode solution in a petri-dish. One end of the segment of the ileum was attached to an isotonic transducer (type F-60), the segment was passively viewed and recorded for further analysis on a 4-channel physiograph (type PMP-4B). The results were expressed as mean ± Standard Deviation. The differences between the means were analyzed using the independent Student t-test. The result was considered significant at P<0.05.
RESULTS: The extract showed a dose dependent response with lower volumes of 0.1, 0.2, 0.4 and 0.6mls of 10mg/ml showing insignificant decrease in strength of contraction with the P-values (0.266, 0.230, 0.309 and 0.272) respectively. Whereas there was progressive increase in decrease of contraction from 0.8ml, 1ml of 10mg/ml, 0.1 to 0.2ml of 15mg/ml with P-values ( 0.036, 0.016, 0.027 and 0.001) respectively. Similar result was seen in decrease rate of contraction. When concurrently administered with Acetylcholine, the extract also showed does dependent decrease in strength of contraction caused by Acetylcholine with P-values of 0.018 for 1ml of 10mg/ml and 0.611 for 0.2ml of 15mg/ml.
CONCLUSION: The inhibitory effect Garcinia kola extract can be said to be mediated through the same mechanism with Acetylcholine. Further investigation should be carried out to establish its mechanism of action on the intestine and other organs.
