Antidiarrheal and antioxidant activities of chamomile (Matricaria recutita L.) decoction extract in rats.
BACKGROUND
Matricaria recutita L. (Chamomile) has been widely used in the Tunisian traditional medicine for the treatment of digestive system disorders. The present work aims to investigate the protective effects of chamomile decoction extract (CDE) against castor oil-induced diarrhea and oxidative stress in rats.


METHODS
The antidiarrheal activity was evaluated using castor oil-induced diarrhea method. In this respect, rats were divided into six groups: Control, Castor oil, Castor oil+Loperamide (LOP) and Castor oil+various doses of CDE. Animals were per orally (p.o.) pre-treated with CDE during 1h and intoxicated for 2 or 4h by acute oral administration of castor oil.


RESULTS
Our results showed that CDE produced a significant dose-dependent protection against castor oil-induced diarrhea and intestinal fluid accumulation. On the other hand, we showed that diarrhea was accompagned by an oxidative stress status assessed by an increase of malondialdehyde (MDA) level and depletion of antioxidant enzyme activities as superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx). Castor oil also increased gastric and intestinal mucosa hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and free iron levels. Importantly, we showed that chamomile pre-treatment abrogated all these biochemical alterations.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings suggested that chamomile extract had a potent antidiarrheal and antioxidant properties in rats confirming their use in traditional medicine.
Laboratoire de Physiologie Intégrée, Faculté des Sciences de Bizerte, 7021 Zarzouna, Tunisia; Laboratoire de Nutrition et Physiologie Animale, Institut Supérieur de Biotechnologie de Béja, Avenue Habib Bourguiba, B.P., 382-9000 Béja, Tunisia. Electronic address: sebaihichem@yahoo.fr.
Hichem
H
Sebai
Laboratoire de Physiologie Intégrée, Faculté des Sciences de Bizerte, 7021 Zarzouna, Tunisia; Laboratoire de Nutrition et Physiologie Animale, Institut Supérieur de Biotechnologie de Béja, Avenue Habib Bourguiba, B.P., 382-9000 Béja, Tunisia.
Mohamed-Amine
MA
Jabri
Laboratoire de Nutrition et Physiologie Animale, Institut Supérieur de Biotechnologie de Béja, Avenue Habib Bourguiba, B.P., 382-9000 Béja, Tunisia.
Abdelaziz
A
Souli
Laboratoire de Nutrition et Physiologie Animale, Institut Supérieur de Biotechnologie de Béja, Avenue Habib Bourguiba, B.P., 382-9000 Béja, Tunisia.
Kais
K
Rtibi
Laboratoire de Nutrition et Physiologie Animale, Institut Supérieur de Biotechnologie de Béja, Avenue Habib Bourguiba, B.P., 382-9000 Béja, Tunisia.
Slimen
S
Selmi
Laboratoire de Physiologie Intégrée, Faculté des Sciences de Bizerte, 7021 Zarzouna, Tunisia.
Olfa
O
Tebourbi
INSERM U773 Centre de Recherche Biomédicale, Faculté de Médecine X. Bichat, 75018 Paris, France.
Jamel
J
El-Benna
Laboratoire de Physiologie Intégrée, Faculté des Sciences de Bizerte, 7021 Zarzouna, Tunisia.
Mohsen
M
Sakly
D000284:Administration, Oral; D000818:Animals; D000930:Antidiarrheals / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002368:Castor Oil / Q000494:pharmacology; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000188:drug therapy; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D008139:Loperamide / Q000494:pharmacology; D008297:Male; D031168:Matricaria / Q000737:chemistry*; D008519:Medicine, Traditional; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013997:Time Factors; D014416:Tunisia
D000930:Antidiarrheals; D000975:Antioxidants; D010936:Plant Extracts; D008139:Loperamide; D002368:Castor Oil
Chamomile; Diarrhea; Iron; Oxidative stress; Rat