Anti-diarrhea Potential and Acute Toxicity Studies of\ud Methanolic Extract of Vernonia amygdalina and\ud Cymbopogon citratus against Castor Oil Induced\ud Diarrhea Model in Rats

investigated. Fifty (50) rats between 120-227g were induced with castor oil for development of\ud diarrhea. They were divided into two sub-groups of twenty-five (25) subsequently divided into five\ud groups treated with 2 mg/kg loperamide, 100, 200, and 400 mg/kg respectively. The cumulative\ud frequencies of wet and formed stools were noted on the 3rd - 6th hour. It was observed that 400\ud mg/kg body weight of the extracts reduced the fecal spots compared to 200 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg\ud body weight. Plant extracts were found to be non-toxic. The phytochemical screening of the\ud methanolic extract revealed the presence of some bioactive components which may be responsible\ud for the anti-diarrhea properties observed in this study. The above findings suggested that the\ud methanolic extracts contain active constituents that have anti-diarrhea activities that may lead to its\ud use in treating diarrhea

Role of atrial natriuretic peptide in the dissociation between flow relations with ventricular mass and function in a community with volume-dependent hypertension

BackgroundWhether differential effects of volume load on left ventricular mass (LVM) and function occur in sustained volume-dependent primary hypertension, and the impact of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) on these effects, is unknown.MethodsFrom aortic pressure, velocity and diameter measurements and echocardiography, we determined in an African community (n = 772), the impact of systemic flow-induced increases in central pulse pressure (PPc) and circulating ANP (ELISA) on LVM and indexes of function.ResultsStroke volume (SV), but not aortic flow (Q), was associated with LVM and mean wall thickness (MWT) beyond stroke work and confounders (p < 0.0001). Adjustments for SV markedly decreased the relationships between PPc and LVMI or MWT. However, neither SV, nor Q were independently associated with either myocardial s', e', or E/e' (p > 0.14) and adjustments for neither SV nor Q modified relationships between PPc and s', e' or E/e' (p < 0.005 to <0.0001). SV was nevertheless strongly and independently associated with ANP (p < 0.0001) and ANP was similarly strikingly associated with s' (p < 0.0001) and e' (p < 0.0005), but not E/e', independent of confounders and several determinants of afterload. Importantly, ANP concentrations were inversely rather than positively associated with LV diastolic dysfunction (DD) (p < 0.005) and lower rather than higher ANP concentrations contributed markedly to the ability to detect DD in those with, but not without LV hypertrophy.ConclusionIn populations with sustained volume-dependent hypertension, flow (SV)-related increases in PP have a major impact on LV structure, but not on function, an effect attributed to parallel striking beneficial actions of ANP on myocardial function