Maytenus erythroxylon Reissek (Celastraceae) ethanol extract presents antidiarrheal activity via antimotility and antisecretory mechanisms

Table 1 Preliminary phytochemical screening of EtOHE-Me

Test	Result
Alkaloids	-
Flavonoids	+
Tannins	+
Steroids and triterpenoids	+
Saponins	+

(+) Present, (-) Absent. EtOHE-Me: Ethanol extract of Maytenus erythroxylon.

Table 2 Effect of the oral administration of EtOH extract obtained from the leaves of Maytenus erythroxylon over the weight gain of male and female mice for 14 d

Sex	Weight gain1	Vehicle	EtOHE-Me
		(NaCl 0.9%)	(2000 mg/kg)
Female	Inicial	30.78 ± 2.30	28.09 ± 2.53NS
	Final	35.51 ± 2.00	34.65 ± 3.37NS
Male	Inicial	31.41 ± 2.00	30.71 ± 2.26NS
	Final	39.06 ± 1.32	38.93 ± 1.83NS

¹Data are presented in g and expressed as mean ± SD.

^NSNo significant differences (P > 0.05) between treated (EtOHE-Me) vs non-treated (NaCl 0.9%) mice. EtOHE-Me: Ethanol extract of Maytenus erythroxylon.

Table 3 Effect of the oral administration of EtOH extract obtained from the leaves of Maytenus erythroxylon on the organ index of male and female mice for 14 d

Sex	Organ index1	Vehicle	EtOHE-Me
		(NaCl 0.9%)	(2000 mg/kg)
Female	Liver	52.66 ± 6.68	53.59 ± 41.61NS
	Heart	4.27 ± 0.74	3.86 ± 0.56NS
	Kidneys	11.40 ± 0.81	10.81 ± 2.31NS
	Spleen	5.53 ± 0.83	5.16 ± 1.03NS
Male	Liver	51.59 ± 2.57	52.33 ± 4.16NS
	Heart	4.71 ± 0.75	4.24 ± 0.45NS
	Kidneys	12.18 ± 1.31	13.16 ± 0.97NS
	Spleen	5.53 ± 0.94	4.78 ± 0.37NS

¹Data are presented in mg/g and expressed as mean ± SD.

^NSNo significant differences (P > 0.05) between treated (EtOHE-Me) vs non-treated (NaCl 0.9%) mice. EtOHE-Me: Ethanol extract of Maytenus erythroxylon.

Table 4 Effect of the oral administration of EtOH extract obtained from the leaves of Maytenus erythroxylon on the consumption of water and food of male and female mice for 14 d

Intake	Vehicle	EtOHE-Me
	(NaCl 0.9%)	(2000 mg/kg)
Water consumption (mL)
Female	30.78 ± 2.30	28.09 ± 2.53NS
Male	35.51 ± 2.00	34.65 ± 3.37NS
Food consumption (g)
Female	31.41 ± 2.00	30.71 ± 2.26NS
Male	39.06 ± 1.32	38.93 ± 1.83NS

¹Data are presented in g and expressed as mean ± SD.

^NSNo significant differences (P > 0.05) between treated (EtOHE-Me) vs non-treated (NaCl 0.9%) mice. EtOHE-Me: Ethanol extract of Maytenus erythroxylon.

Table 5 Effect of oral administration of EtOHE-Me and loperamide on castor oil induced-diarrhea in mice

Treatment,as p.o.	Dose in mg/kg	Evacuation index	Wet feces	Inhibition of diarrhea
NaCl 0.9%	-	21 (19-25)	47%	-
Loperamide	5	0 (0-4)2	0%	100%
EtOHE-Me	62.5	8 (5-11)1	4%	62%
	125	7 (6-8)1	2%	66%
	250	6.5 (3-7)1	0%	69%
	500	4 (3-5)13	0%	81%

¹Significant differences between treated groups vs NaCl 0.9% control group (P < 0.05);

²Significant differences between loperamide group vs NaCl 0.9% control group (P < 0.001);

³Significant differences between EtOHE-Me 250 mg/kg vs EtOHE-Me 500 mg/kg (P < 0.05). Data are expressed as median (minimum-maximum). EtOHE-Me: Ethanol extract of Maytenus erythroxylon.