Antidiarrheal Potential of Ethanol Extract of Psidium guajava Leaves
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Abstract
Diarrhea is a common gastrointestinal disorder characterized by excessive fluid secretion and disruption of normal bowel movements. In African folk medicine, the leaf of Psidium guajava Linn. (Family: Myrtaceae) is used traditionally to manage, control, and/or treat diarrhea. This study aimed to comparatively evaluate the effects of the ethanol extract of guava leaves on castor oil-induced diarrhea in rats. Three models of determination of antidiarrheal properties were adopted and determined. The first model involved the determination of antidiarrheal activities of the castor oil-induced diarrhea model; results showed that Psidium guajava leaf extract (PGLE) of 150, 300, and 600 mg/kg groups dose-dependently and significantly (p < 0.05) inhibited all the diarrheal parameters tested, such as onset of diarrhea, total number of stools, number of wet stools, and weight of wet stools measured. The second model is Castor oil-induced gastrointestinal motility, in which increased doses of the extract reduced the distance travelled by charcoal meal in 300 and 600 mg/kg Psidium guajava, respectively, but it was not as effective as 5 mg/kg Loperamide. In the third model: castor oil-induced enteropooling. Results showed the effect of the ethanol leaf extract of P. guajava on intestinal fluid content demonstrated a significant dose-dependent reduction in both mean weight and mean volume of the small intestinal content at 150, 300, and 600 mg/kg, respectively. These findings suggest that the ethanol extract of P. guajava leaves may possess significant anti-diarrheal activity, as evidenced by its ability to reduce intestinal fluid accumulation, improve stool consistency, and ameliorate intestinal motility in castor oil-induced diarrhea rats.
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Chigbo, C. M., Nwobodo, V. O. G., Orji, E. C., Okeke, E. C., Nworji, O. F., Ogana, J., & Iloanya, E. L. (2026). Antidiarrheal Potential of Ethanol Extract of Psidium guajava Leaves. The Bioscientist Journal, 14(2), 157-174. https://doi.org/10.54117/the_bioscientist.v14i2.225
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References
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Rawat, P., Singh, P. K. and Kumar, V. (2017). Evidence based traditional anti-diarrheal medicinal plants and their phytocompounds, Biomed and Pharmacotherapy,96: 1453–1464.
Rouf, R., Uddin, S. J., Shilpi, J. A. and Alamgir, M. (2007). Assessment of antidiarrhoeal activity of the methanol extract of Xylocarpusgranatum bark in mice model, Journal of Ethnopharmacology,109 (3): 539–542.
Roy, K.C., Kamath, V. J. and Asad, M. (2006). Hepatoprotective activity of Psidium guajava Linn leaf extract. Indian Journal of Experimental Biology,44 (4):305–311.
Sarin, R. V., Narwal, S. and Bafna, P. A. (2013). Anti-diarrhoeal activity of aqueous extract of Ocimum kilimandscharicum.Journal of Ethnopharmacology,148 (1): 223–228.
Sharma, P., Vidyasagar, G., Singh, S., Ghule, S. and Kumar, B. (2010). Anti-diarrheal activity of leaf extract of celosia argentea in experimentally induced diarrhea in rats. Journal of Advanced Pharmaceutical Technology and Research, 1(1): 41–48.
Shukla, D. and K. Gahlot, K. (2020). Evaluation of antidiarrhoeal activity of the leaves and stem of Bauhinia vahlii, Pharmaceutical Journal, 12 (6): 1389-1394.
Suleiman, M. M., Dzenda, T. and Sani, C. A. (2008). Anti-diarrheal activity of the methanol stem-bark extract of Annona senegalensis Pers. (Annonaceae). Journal of ethnopharmacology. 116(1): 125–130.
Thapar, N., & Sanderson, I. R. (2004). Diarrhoea in children: Pathophysiology and fluid loss dynamics. The Lancet, 363(9412), 641–653.
Trease, G. E., and Evans, W. C. (2009). Trease and Evans' Pharmacognosy (16th ed.). Saunders Elsevier.
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Yacob, T., Shibeshi, W. and Nedi, T. (2016) Antidiarrheal activity of 80\% methanol extract of the aerial part of Ajugaremota Benth(Lamiaceae) in mice, BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine,16 (1): 1–8.
Yakubu, M. T., Amoniyan, O. D., Mohammed, M. O., Assin, C. I., Abubakar, J. O. and Salimon, S. S. (2020). Anti-diarrhoeal activity of aqueous extract of Cochlospermum planchonii (Hook Fx. Planch) leaves in female Wistar rats. Journal of Medicinal Plants for Economic Development,4 (1): 1–8.
Adzu, B., Amos, S., Amizan, M. B. and Gmaniel, K. (2003) Evaluation of the antidiarrhoeal effects of Zizyphusspinachristi (Combretaceae) stem bark in rats, Acta Tropica, 87 (2): 245–250, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0001–706X(03)00114-1. 2003.
Arslan, H., Inci, E. K., Azap, O. K., Karakayali, H., Torgay, A., and Haberal, M.(2007) Etiologic agents of diarrhea in solid organ recipients, Transplant and Infectious Disease,9(4): 270–275.
Azwanida, N. N. (2015). A review on the extraction methods of medicinal plants. Medicinal & Aromatic Plants, 4(3), 1–6.
Balaji, G., Chalamaiah, M., Ramesh, B., and Reddy, A. Y. (2012) Antidiarrhoeal activity of ethanol and aqueous extracts of Carumcopticum seeds in experimental rats, Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine,2(2): 1151–1155, https://doi.org/10.1016/S2221-1691(12)60376-1.
Bigoniya, P., and Rana, A. C. (2009) Antidiarrheal and antispasmodic activity of Wrightia tinctoria bark and its steroidal alkaloid fraction. Pharmacologyonline, 3: 298–310.
Díaz-de-Cerio, E., Verardo, V., Gómez-Caravaca, A. M., Fernández-Gutiérrez, A., & Segura-Carretero, A. (2017). Health effects of Psidium guajava L. leaves: An overview of the last decade—International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 18(4), Article 897.
El-Mostafa, K., El-Kharrassi, Y., Badreddine, A., Andreoletti, P., Vamecq, J., and El- Kebbaj, M. S. (2014) Nopal cactus (Opuntia ficus-indica) as a source of bioactive compounds for nutrition, health and disease. Molecules, 19 (9): 14879–14901.
Garrido, G. (2024). Antidiarrheal effect of Psidium guajava L. extract in acute diarrhea: A systematic review. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 104(13), 7731–7753.
Gutiérrez, R. M., Mitchell, S., & Solis, R. V. (2008). Psidium guajava: A review of its traditional uses, phytochemistry and pharmacology. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 117(1), 1–27.
Handa, S. S., Khanuja, S. P. S., Pagaman, G., & Rakesh, D. D. (2008). An overview of extraction techniques for medicinal and aromatic plants. In Extraction Technologies for Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (pp. 21–54). ICS-UNIDO
Hossain, M. H., Hassan, M. M., Jahan, I. A., Nimmi, I. and Islam, A. (2012). Antidiarrhoealactivity, nitric oxide scavenging and total tannin content from the bark of Ceriops decandra (griff.) Ding hou. International Journal of Pharmaceutical Science Research,3: 1306–1311.
Jalilzadeh-Amin, G. and Maham, M. (2015). The application of 1, 8-cineole, a terpenoid oxide present in medicinal plants, inhibits castor oil-induced diarrhea in rats. Pharmaceutical Biology, 53 (4): 594–599.
Kouitcheu-Mabeku, L. B., Kouam, J., Penlap, B. V., Ngadjui, B. T., Fomum, Z. T. and Etoa, F. X. (2006). Evaluation of antimicrobial activity of the stem bark of Cylicodiscus gabunensis (Mimosaceae). African journal of traditional, complementary, and alternative medicines, 4(1): 87–93.
Krueger, R. J. (2005) Drugs of Natural Origin. A Textbook of Pharmacognosy. By Gunnar Samuelson. Swedish Pharmaceutical Press, ACS Publications, Stockholm. 17th ed. p. 620.
Kumar, M., Tomar, M., Bhuyan, D. J., Mishra, S., Grasso, S., Lorenzo, J. M., ... & Kennedy, J. F. (2021). Guava (Psidium guajava L.) leaves: Nutritional composition, phytochemical profile, and health benefits. Foods, 10(4), Article 752.
Liu, C., Zheng, Y., Xu, W., Wang, H. and Lin, H. (2014). Rhubarb tannins extract inhibits the expression of Aquaporins 2 and 3 in Magnesium Sulphate-induced diarrhea model, BioMed Research International, 14: 1-14. https://doi.org/10.101155/2014/619465, 619465.
Lorke, D. (1983). A new approach to practical acute toxicity testing. Archives of Toxicology, 54: 275–287.
Malik, A. R., Wani, A. H., Bhat, M. Y. and Parveen, S. (2017). Ethnomycological knowledge of some wild mushrooms of northern districts of Jammu and Kashmir, India, Asian Journal of Pharmaceutical and Clinical Research, 10 (9): 399–405.
Muthukumaran, P., Saraswathy, N., Aswitha, V., Balan, R., Gokhul, V. B., and Indumathi, P. (2016) Assessment of total phenolic, flavonoid, tannin content and phytochemical screening of leaf and flower extracts from Peltophorumpterocarpum (DC.) Backer ex K. Heyne: a comparative study. Pharmaceutical Journal, 8 (2): 140-143.
Naseer, S., Hussain, S., Naeem, N., Pervaiz, M. and Rahman, M. (2018). The Phytochemistry and Medicinal Value of Psidium guajava (guava). Clinical Phytoscience, 4(32). 1-13.
Nwodo, P. F. C. and Alumanah, E. O. (1991). Studies on Abrus precatorius seeds II: antidiarrheal activity. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 31(3): 395-398.
OECD/OCDE. Acute oral toxicity. OECD Guidelines for the Testing of Chemicals. In: Thirteenth Addendum to the OECD. Paris: Organization for economic cooperation, development; 2008: 425.
Pierce, N. F., Carpenter, C. C., Elliot, H. L. and Greenough, W. B. (1971) Effects of prostaglandins, theophylline and cholera exotoxin upon transmucosal water and electrolyte movement in canine jejunum, Gastroenterology,60 (1): 22–32.
Plants of the World Online (POWO). (2024). Myrtaceae Juss. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. kew.org
Rahman, Z., Siddiqui, M. N., Khatun, M. A. and Kamruzzaman, M. (2013). Effect of guava (Psidium guajava) leaf meal on production performances and antimicrobial sensitivity in commercial broiler. Journal of Natural Products, 6:177-187.
Rawat, P., Singh, P. K. and Kumar, V. (2017). Evidence based traditional anti-diarrheal medicinal plants and their phytocompounds, Biomed and Pharmacotherapy,96: 1453–1464.
Rouf, R., Uddin, S. J., Shilpi, J. A. and Alamgir, M. (2007). Assessment of antidiarrhoeal activity of the methanol extract of Xylocarpusgranatum bark in mice model, Journal of Ethnopharmacology,109 (3): 539–542.
Roy, K.C., Kamath, V. J. and Asad, M. (2006). Hepatoprotective activity of Psidium guajava Linn leaf extract. Indian Journal of Experimental Biology,44 (4):305–311.
Sarin, R. V., Narwal, S. and Bafna, P. A. (2013). Anti-diarrhoeal activity of aqueous extract of Ocimum kilimandscharicum.Journal of Ethnopharmacology,148 (1): 223–228.
Sharma, P., Vidyasagar, G., Singh, S., Ghule, S. and Kumar, B. (2010). Anti-diarrheal activity of leaf extract of celosia argentea in experimentally induced diarrhea in rats. Journal of Advanced Pharmaceutical Technology and Research, 1(1): 41–48.
Shukla, D. and K. Gahlot, K. (2020). Evaluation of antidiarrhoeal activity of the leaves and stem of Bauhinia vahlii, Pharmaceutical Journal, 12 (6): 1389-1394.
Suleiman, M. M., Dzenda, T. and Sani, C. A. (2008). Anti-diarrheal activity of the methanol stem-bark extract of Annona senegalensis Pers. (Annonaceae). Journal of ethnopharmacology. 116(1): 125–130.
Thapar, N., & Sanderson, I. R. (2004). Diarrhoea in children: Pathophysiology and fluid loss dynamics. The Lancet, 363(9412), 641–653.
Trease, G. E., and Evans, W. C. (2009). Trease and Evans' Pharmacognosy (16th ed.). Saunders Elsevier.
UNICEF. (2024, November). Diarrhoea. UNICEF Data: Child Health. unicef.org
World Health Organization. (2024, March 7). Diarrhoeal disease. who. In
Yacob, T., Shibeshi, W. and Nedi, T. (2016) Antidiarrheal activity of 80\% methanol extract of the aerial part of Ajugaremota Benth(Lamiaceae) in mice, BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine,16 (1): 1–8.
Yakubu, M. T., Amoniyan, O. D., Mohammed, M. O., Assin, C. I., Abubakar, J. O. and Salimon, S. S. (2020). Anti-diarrhoeal activity of aqueous extract of Cochlospermum planchonii (Hook Fx. Planch) leaves in female Wistar rats. Journal of Medicinal Plants for Economic Development,4 (1): 1–8.