title: Evaluation of antimotility effect of Lantana camara L. var. acuelata constituents on neostigmine induced gastrointestinal transit in mice.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Lantana camara L. (Verbenaceae), a widely growing shrub which is toxic to some animal species, has been used in the traditional medicine for treating many ailments. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the antimotility effects of Lantana camara leaf constituents in mice intestine.
  
  
  METHODS
  Evaluation of antimotility activity was done in intestine of mice treated with Lantana camara leaf powder, Lantana camara methanolic extract (LCME), lantadene A, neostigmine and neostigmine + LCME. Neostigmine was used as a promotility agent. Intestinal motility was assessed by charcoal meal test and gastrointestinal transit rate was expressed as the percentage of the distance traversed by the charcoal divided by the total length of the small intestine. The antidiarrheal effect of LCME was studied against castor oil induced diarrhea model in mice.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The intestinal transit with LCME at a dose of 500 mg/kg was 26.46% whereas the higher dose (1 g/kg) completely inhibited the transit of charcoal in normal mice. The % intestinal transit in the neostigmine pretreated groups was 24 and 11 at the same doses respectively. When the plant extracts at 125 and 250 mg/kg doses were administered intraperitonealy, there was significant reduction in fecal output compared with castor oil treated mice. At higher doses (500 and 1000 mg/kg), the fecal output was almost completely stopped.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The remarkable antimotility effect of Lantana camara methanolic extract against neostigmine as promotility agent points towards an anticholinergic effect due to Lantana camara constituents and attests to its possible utility in secretory and functional diarrheas and other gastrointestinal disorders. This effect was further confirmed by significant inhibition of castor oil induced diarrhea in mice by various doses of LCME.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Panjab University, Chandigarh 160 014, India. lenika@rediffmail.com
authors.forename: Lenika
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sagar
authors.forename: Rajesh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sehgal
authors.forename: Sudarshan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ojha
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002368:Castor Oil; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005772:Gastrointestinal Transit / Q000187:drug effects*; D032410:Lantana; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D009388:Neostigmine; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology; D018515:Plant Leaves
chemical_list: D010936:Plant Extracts; D009388:Neostigmine; D002368:Castor Oil