ABSTRACT
Musa paradisiacae commonly known as plantain is a rhizomatous perennial crop used as a source of starchy staple for millions of people in Nigeria. Different parts of
the plant have been used in the treatment of various ailments and there are claims that it has antidiarrhoeal activity. This study is therefore aimed at determining the effects of unripe Musa paradisiacae pulp and peel homogenates on castor oil-induced diarrhoea in Wistar albino rats. The qualitative phytochemical constituents of Musa paradisiacae pulp and peel were found to be flavonoids, saponins, soluble carbohydrates, tannins, reducing sugars, hydrogen cyanide, steroids, alkaloids, and glycosides. The LD50 results showed no toxicity up to 5000 mg/kg body weight. Rats were divided into 7 groups of 4 rats each. The groups were pre-treated as follows: group 1: normal saline (control); group 2: 3 mg/kg lomotil (standard drug); groups 3 and 4: 200 and 400 mg/kg unripe Musa paradisiacae pulp homogenates respectively; groups 5 and 6: 200 and 400mg/kg unripe Musa paradisiacae peel homogenates respectively; group 7: combination of unripe Musa paradisiacae pulp and peel homogenates (200/400 mg/kg respectively). After the treatments, diarrhoea was induced using castor oil. Relative to the control group 1, the treatment groups 2-7 inhibited castor oil-induced frequency of defecation and wetness of stool dose dependently but non-significantly (p>0.05). Both the pulp and peel homogenates produced non-significant decreases (p>0.05) in the distances travelled by the charcoal meal (marker) in castor oil-induced diarrhoea rats compared to the control group 1. Pre-treatment of the rats with unripe Musa paradisiacae pulp and peel homogenates decreased significantly (p<0.05) enteropooling indicated by decreases in the volume and weight of the gastro-intestinal contents relative to the control group 1. Treatment with the unripe Musa paradisiacae pulp and peel homogenates led to significant decreases (p<0.05) in the bicarbonate ion concentrations except in group 3 rats while the potassium ion concentrations increased significantly (p<0.05) in all the groups except in groups 3, 4 and 7 rats which showed non-significant decreases (p>0.05) compared to the control group 1. Sodium ion concentrations of the pre-treated groups increased non-significantly (p>0.05) except in groups 4 and 7 rats which decreased non-significantly (p>0.05) relative to the control group 1.Using everted rat intestines, the pulp and peel homogenates enhanced significant (p<0.05) influx of sodium ions into the everted sacs (serosal) and significant (p<0.05) efflux of potassium ions out of the sacs (mucosal) in relation to the control group 1. These findings reveal that unripe Musa paradisiacae pulp and peel exhibit antidiarrhoeal properties by inhibiting gastro-intestinal motility, enteropooling, wetness and frequency of defecation. They have also shown abilities to facilitate transport of electrolytes across the small intestinal membrane.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
The use of traditional medicines in West Africa is probably as old as the duration of human settlement in the region (Abdul-aguye, 1997). A medicinal plant provides an important source of new chemical substances with potential therapeutic effects. These have been used in traditional medicine for the treatment of several diseases and aliments (Mukerjee et al., 1998). It is already important to the global economy with demand steadily increasing not only in developing countries but also in industrialized countries (Sofowara, 1993).
Herbalism or herbal medicine is the use of plants for medicinal purposes, and the study of such use (Briskin, 2000). Herbal medicine is still the mainstay of about
75 – 80% of the world population, mainly in the developing countries, for primary health care (Kamboj, 2000). Plants have been the basis for medical treatments through much of human history, and such traditional medicine is still widely practiced today (Briskin, 2000). This is primarily because of the general belief that herbal drugs are without any side effects besides being cheap and locally available (Gupta and Raina,
1998). Modern medicine recognizes herbalism as a form of alternative medicine as
the practice of herbalism is not strictly based on evidence gathered using the scientific method (Talalay, 2001). According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the use of herbal remedies throughout the world exceeds that of the conventional drugs by two to three times (Evans, 1994). The use of plants for healing purposes predates human history and forms the origin of much modern medicine. Modern medicine, does, however, make use of many plant-derived compounds as the basis for evidence- tested pharmaceutical drugs, and phytotherapy works to apply modern standards of effectiveness testing to herbs and medicines that are derived from natural sources (Talalay, 2001). Examples include aspirin (willow bark), digoxin (from foxglove), quinine (from cinchona bark), and morphine (from the opium poppy) (Vickers and Zollman, 1999). Currently, a number of medicinal plants with antidiarrhoeal and antimicrobial properties are used in traditional herbal practice in many countries of the world. So it is important to identify and evaluate commonly available natural drugs that could be used against any type of diarrhoeal disease.
A number of herbs are thought to likely have adverse effects (Talay, 2001). Furthermore, “adulteration, inappropriate formulation, or lack of understanding of plant and drug interactions have led to adverse reactions that are sometimes life
threatening or lethal (Elvin-Lewis, 2001). Proper double-blind clinical trials are needed to determine the safety and efficacy of each plant before they can be recommended for medical use (Vickers, 2007). Although many consumers believe that herbal medicines are safe because they are “natural”, herbal medicines and synthetic drugs may interact, causing toxicity to the patient. Herbal remedies can also be dangerously contaminated, and herbal medicines without established efficacy, may unknowingly be used to replace medicines that do have corroborated efficacy (Ernst,
2007). The World Health Organization (WHO), the specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that is concerned with international public health, published quality control methods for medicinal plant materials in 1998 in order to support WHO Member States in establishing quality standards and specifications for herbal materials, within the overall context of quality assurance and control of herbal medicines (WHO, 2010).
There are different methods of herbal preparations and the exact composition of an herbal product is influenced by the method of extraction. They are:
1) Tisanes or herbal teas; are the resultant liquid of extracting herbs into water (Green, 2000). The methods used are, infusions (hot water extracts of herbs), decoctions (long term boiled extracts usually of harder substances like roots and bark) and maceration (old infusion of plants with high mucilage content) (Green, 2000).
2) Tinctures; alcoholic extracts of herbs generally stronger than tisanes (Green,
2000).
3) Syrups; extracts of herbs made with syrups or honey (Green, 2000).
In developing countries, diarrhoea continues to be one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity in children less than 5 years old. According to World Health Report, diarrhoea is the cause of 3.3% of all deaths. Worldwide distribution of diarrhoea accounts for more than 5-8 million deaths each year in children. The incidence of diarrhoeal disease still remains high despite the effort by many government and international organizations to reduce it. Nigeria, the fourth largest economy in Africa with an estimated per capita income of $350 has over half of its population living in poverty (WHO, 2007). This implies that very few people can afford orthodox medicine in curing diseases. Use of traditional medicines to combat the consequences of diarrhoea has been emphasized by WHO in its Diarrhoea Control Programme. It is therefore important to identify and evaluate available natural drugs
as alternatives to current antidiarrhoeal drugs, which are not always free from adverse effects. Several studies have shown the beneficial effects of a number of medicinal plants used traditionally in the treatment of diarrhoeal disease, one of such being Bombax buonopozense (Akudor et al., 2011), Vitex doniana (Ukwuani et al., 2012), Anacardium occidentale (Omoboyowa et al., 2013) etc.
Musa paradisiacae belongs to the Musaceae family and is cultivated in many
tropics and subtropical countries of the world. It ranks third after yams and cassava for sustainability in Nigeria (Akomolafe and Aborisade, 2007). Musa paradisiacae is a rhizomatous perennial crop used as a source of starchy staple for millions of people in Nigeria (Adeniyi et al., 2006).Unripe Musa paradisiacae, which is the green plantain contains more starch than the ripe plantain in which the starch is converted to sugars (glucose, fructose and sucrose). It has been indicated to posses antidiabetic (Eleazu et al., 2013), antioxidant (Shodehinde and Oboh, 2012), antimicrobial (Hossain et al., 2011), and antiulcerogenic properties (Ralph et al., 1984). There have also been traditional claims that unripe Musa paradisiacae can be used in diarrhoeal treatments even though it has not been scientifically proven.
1.1 Musa paradisiacae
Fig. 1: Musa paradisiacae fruit (Gibert et al., 2009).
1.1.1 Taxonomy of Musa paradisiacae
Kingdom– Plantae Division – Spermatophyta Sub-division – Angiospermae Phylum – Tracheophyta
Class – Liliopsida Order – Zingiberales Family – Musceae Genus – Musa
Species – Paradisiacae
(Smith, 1977).
1.1.2 Common names of Musa paradisiacae
Musa paradisiacae is commonly known as plantain. Among the Igbos of Nigeria, it is known as “ogede or abrika”, in Yoruba as “ogede agbagba”, in “Igala as agbo̥” , and in Hausa as “agada or afutu”.
1.1.3 Origin of Musa paradisiacae
Bananas and plantains belong to the genus Musa. It was Linnaeus that first gave the scientific name Musa sapientum for all sweet bananas, and the scientific name Musa paradisiacae for plantains (Simmonds, 1962). However, Linnaeus did not know that the two species he had described were in fact hybrids and not two distinct species (Zeller, 2005). Therefore, those two names could not be relevant in modern taxonomy.
Genetic studies have then demonstrated that all edible bananas and plantains come from a common ancestor, Musa acuminata. Plantains also carry genes from another ancestor, Musa balbisiana (Lejju et al., 2005). The genome of each ancestor could be represented respectively by the letter A and B. Then, further studies showed that edible bananas are mostly triploids and their genome would be described as AAA. This means that they carry three sets of chromosomes derived from M. acuminate (Simmonds, 1962). Different hybrid combinations have been observed, such as AAB, BBB, and tetraploid groups (AAAA) were also described.
Therefore, an accurate classification for bananas seems to be a great challenge. However, one thing sure in that banana taxonomists seem to agree that there is no single scientific name that can be attributed to all edible bananas (Zeller, 2005; Solofo and Ellis, 2009). Therefore, a new type of classification was proposed by Simmonds and that would abandon the Latin name to use instead a group indication like this: genus (Musa) + genome group (e.g. AAA) + subgroup name (e.g. Cavendish subgroup “Grand Nain”). In Panama, the sweet bananas come mostly from the Cavendish subgroup. The plantain subgroup is also triploid but has the genome group AAB (Simmonds, 1962).
1.1.4 Description of Musa paradisiacae plant
The common Musa paradisiacae has broad, irregular oval leaves, abruptly contracted at the base into a long broad, channelled footstalk. The fully grown blade is
1.3–2.4 meters long and about two third as broad, usually smooth, with several
parallel veins. It is wind pollinated and propagates primarily by seeds which are held on the long narrow spikes which rise well above the foliage (Zeller, 2005).
Musa x paradisiaca (M. acuminata x M. balbisiana) is a sterile (without seeds or viable pollen) triploid (2n=3x=33 chromosomes) that is cultivated in warm climates for its tasty yellow-skinned fruit (Nelson et al., 2006). This is a large, fast- growing, suckering, herbaceous perennial that produces huge oblong to paddle-shaped leaves that grow to as much as 8’ long with leaf sheaths overlapping to help form a trunk-like pseudo stem (false stem). The pseudo-stem can reach up to 2-9 m tall and with short underground stem (corm) with buds, from which short rhizomes grow to produce a clump of aerial shoots (suckers) close to the parent plant. The roots are adventitious, spreading 4-5 m laterally, descending to 75cm long, but mainly in the top of 15cm and form a dense mat. It develops from the underground rhizome (Gibert,
2009).
At maturity, the rhizome gives rise to flower (inflorescence) that is carried up along a smooth elongated unbranched stem piercing through the centre of the pseudo- stem, finally emerging out at the top in between the leaf cluster. Yellow flowers with purple-red bracts appear in summer on mature plants. The flower subsequently develops to plantain bunch consisting of 3 to 20 hands each with at least 5-10 fingers (fruits) (Zeller, 2005). The plant is also monocarpic, which means that a shoot can only flower once and will die after the fruit is produced. The leaf crown will be oriented downward due to gravity.
Raw green fruits are only eaten after cooking. Each fruit measures about 3 to
10 inches or more in length depending on the cultivar type. They tend to have coarse external features with prominent edges and flat surfaces. The flesh inside is starch rich with tiny edible black seeds concentrated at its core. Ripening process however enhances flavor and sweetness since the starch converts to sugar (glucose, fructose and sucrose) (Phebe et al., 2007). The genus honors Antonia Musa, Roman physician of the 1st century B.C.
No serious insect or disease problems. In some cases, insects like aphids,
mealy bugs, moths, scale, thrips, fruit flies and spider mites may attack the plant. Susceptible to anthracnose, wilt and mosaic virus (Scott et al., 1970).
1.1.5 Distribution of Musa paradisiacae
The plant is widely distributed throughout the tropical regions of Southeast
Asia and western Pacific regions.
It is native to Southeast Asia, India and Burma through the Malay Archipelago to New Guinea, America, Australia, Samona, and tropical Africa (Ahmad et al.,
2006). However, the cultivation is limited to Florida, the Canary Islands, Egypt, Southern Japan, and South Brazil. The top leaders exporting countries of plantain are Ecuador, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Honduras. Panama occupies the 6th position. The large diversity that occurred in plantain has resulted in a variety of cultivars (Scott et al., 1970).
The number of Musa paradisiacae cultivated varieties (cultivars) has been reported to vary from one country to another. Swennen (1990) observed that at least
116 plantain cultivars exist in different parts of West and Central Africa. In Nigeria alone, more than 20 cultivars have been reported, although only a few are important commercially Swennen (1990). Musa paradisiacae is a major starch crop of importance in the human tropical zone of Africa, Asia, Central and South America. It is undoubtedly one of the oldest cultivated fruits in West and Central Africa. It is consumed as an energy yielding food and desert. It has been estimated that Musa paradisiacae and other bananas provide nearly 60 million people in Africa with more than 200 calories (food energy) per day. Fruits such as Musa paradisiacae are an important contribution to the diets of many low and middle class people in many African settings (Stover and Simmonds, 1987). Bananas and plantains constitute the fourth most important global food commodity (after rice, wheat and maize) grown in more than 100 countries over a harvested area of approximately 10 million hectares, with an annual production of 88 million tonnes (Frison and Sharrock, 1999). The all year round fruiting habit of Musa paradisiacae puts the crop in a superior position in bridging the ‘hunger gap’ between crop harvests. It therefore contributes significantly to food and income security of people engaged in its production and trade, particularly in developing countries. Musa paradisiacae is an important staple crop, supplying up to 25% of the carbohydrates for approximately 70 million people in the humid zone of sub-Saharan Africa. (IITA, 1998).
1.1.6 Cultivation and storage of Musa paradisiacae
Musa paradisiacae is grown in 52 countries with world production of 33 million metric tonnes (FAO, 2005). It grows more than any other plant in compacted soils, is abundant beside paths, roadside and other areas with frequent soil compaction. It is also common in grassland and as a weed among crops. Musa paradisiacae originated in the humid tropics and performs best under warm (27-30ºC) and very wet (200-220mm per month) conditions. The musa cultivars can stand warmer and drier climates (Gibert, 2009). The best soils are deep, friable loam with a good drainage and aeration. High soil fertility and organic matter content are desirable. The crop tolerates PH values of 4.5-7.5. It is sensitive to typhoons which cause blow-downs. A major problem of Musa paradisiacae is that the fruits are highly perishable (Scott et al., 1971). The most important physiological function affecting product quality during storage is respiration and transpiration. To extend storage life, these functions should be reduced. This can be done by controlling temperature, humidity, ventilation, and atmospheric composition during storage (Scott and Gandanegara, 1974).
1.1.7 Historical uses of Musa paradisiacae
Every part of Musa paradisiacae including root system is used widely in various treatments. The fruit of unripe Musa paradisiacae is traditionally used in the treatment of diarrhoea, dysentery, intestinal lesions in ulcerative colitis, diabetes (unripe), in sprue, uraemia, nephritis, gout, hypertension, cardiac disease (Mwangi et al., 2007).
Unripe bananas and plantain fruits are astringent, and used to treat diarrhoea.
The leaves are used for cough and bronchitis. The roots can arrest haemoptysis and posses strongly astringent, and antihelmintic properties. Plantain juice is used as an antidote for snakebite. Other uses are asthma, burns, diabetes, dysentery, excessive menstrual flow, fever, gangrene, gout, headache, haemorrhage, inflammation, insomnia, intestinal parasites, sores, syphilis, tuberculosis, ulcers, and warts (Coe and Anderson, 1999). In Suriname’s traditional medicine, the red protecting leaves of the bud was used against heavy menstrual bleeding (menorrhagia). Other therapeutic uses were against dysentery, migraine, hypertension, asthma and jaundice.
1.1.8 Health benefits of Musa paradisiacae
Indeed, they are very reliable sources of starch and energy ensuring food security for millions of households worldwide (Swennen, 1990).
It contains dietary fibre. Adequate amount of Dietary-fibre in the food helps normal bowel movements, thereby reducing constipation problems.
Musa paradisiacae is rich in vitamin C. Consumption of foods rich in vitamin- C helps the body develop resistance against infectious agents and scavenge harmful oxygen-free radicals.
Musa paradisiacae contains enough of vitamin A. In addition to being a powerful antioxidant, vitamin A plays a vital role in the visual cycle, maintaining healthy mucus membranes, and enhancing skin complexion.
As in bananas, they too are rich sources of B-complex vitamins, particularly
high in vitamin-B6 (pyridoxine). Pyridoxine is an important B-complex vitamin that has a beneficial role in the treatment of neuritis, anaemia, and to decrease homocystine (one of the causative factors for coronary artery disease (CHD) and stroke episodes) levels in the body. In addition, the fruit contains moderate levels of folates, niacin, riboflavin and thiamine (Ogazi, 1996).
They also provide adequate levels of minerals such as iron, magnesium, and phosphorous. Magnesium is essential for bone strengthening and has a cardiac-protective role as well.
Musa paradisiacae are also rich in potassium. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps control heart rate and blood pressure, countering negative effects of sodium (Ogazi, 1996).
1.1.9 Ripening Process and the Chemical Composition of Musa paradisiacae
The chemical composition of Musa paradisiacae varies with variety, maturity, degree of ripeness and where it is grown (soil type). During the ripening process, Musa paradisiacae produce the gas ethylene, which acts as a plant hormone and indirectly affects the flavour. Among other things, ethylene stimulates the formation of amylase, an enzyme that breaks down starch into sugar, influencing the taste of
bananas (Swennen, 1990). The greener, less ripe Musa paradisiacae contain higher levels of starch and, consequently, have a “starchier” taste. On the other hand, ripe ones taste sweeter due to higher sugar concentrations. Furthermore, ethylene signals the production of pectinase, an enzyme which breaks down the pectin between the cells of the banana, causing the banana to soften as it ripens. The water content in the green plant is about 61% and increases on ripening to about 68%. The increase in water is presumably due to the breakdown of carbohydrate during respiration. Green Musa paradisiacae contains starch which is in the range 21 to 26% (Jaffe et al., 1963; Marriott and Lancaster, 1983). The starch in the unripe plantain consists of mainly amylose and amylopectin in a ratio of around 1:5. Sugars comprise only about 1.3% of the total dry matter in unripe plantain, but this rises to around 17% in the ripe fruit (Ogazi, 1996). During ripening, the sugars are in the approximate ratio of glucose, 20: fructose, 15: sucrose, 65. Only traces of other sugars are found (Swennen, 1990). The fat content of plantains is very low, less than 0.5% and so fats do not contribute to the energy content (Jaffe et al., 1963; Marriott and Lancaster, 1983).
The protein content of unripe fruit is between 0.5 and 1.6% and no significant change in the ripening fruit has been detected. The amino acid component includes alanine amino-butyric acid, glutamine, asparagine, histidine, serine, arginine, and leucine. The ascorbic acid content is high. Although the total lipid content remains essentially unchanged during ripening, the composition of fatty acids, especially within the phospholipid fractions has been observed to change, with a decrease in their saturation (Ogazi, 1996).
This material content is developed to serve as a GUIDE for students to conduct academic research
ANTIDIARRHOEAL EFFECT OF UNRIPE MUSA PARADISIACAE PULP AND PEEL HOMOGENATES ON CASTOR OIL-INDUCED DIARRHOEA IN WISTAR ALBINO RATS
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