• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • CONTACT US
Wednesday, May 31, 2023
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • CONTACT US
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • CONTACT US
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News

New study in Journal of Pharmaceutical Analysis marries modern science with traditional knowledge to decipher anti-diarrheal effect of cashew stem bark extract

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
February 23, 2022
in Science News
Reading Time: 5 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

Traditional plant-based medicines have been successfully used by indigenous populations for centuries. Armed with modern technologies, researchers are now exploring the science behind these remedies in the hope of identifying sustainable therapeutic options.  Anacardium occidentale (Ao), the common cashew tree, is one such plant that has long been recognized in traditional medicine systems for its therapeutic potential. For instance, different parts of this tropical tree, leaves, bark, seed kernel, and gum, are known to have an anti-diarrheal effect. However, the exact mechanisms of action of these plant parts and the active components of the decoctions prepared from them remain a mystery.

New Study in Journal of Pharmaceutical Analysis Marries Modern Science with Traditional Knowledge to Decipher Anti-Diarrheal Effect of Cashew Stem Bark Extract

Credit: Bernt Rostad on Creative Commons

Traditional plant-based medicines have been successfully used by indigenous populations for centuries. Armed with modern technologies, researchers are now exploring the science behind these remedies in the hope of identifying sustainable therapeutic options.  Anacardium occidentale (Ao), the common cashew tree, is one such plant that has long been recognized in traditional medicine systems for its therapeutic potential. For instance, different parts of this tropical tree, leaves, bark, seed kernel, and gum, are known to have an anti-diarrheal effect. However, the exact mechanisms of action of these plant parts and the active components of the decoctions prepared from them remain a mystery.

Dr. Kayode E. Adewole from the University of Medical Sciences, Nigeria, and colleagues attempted to demystify the mechanisms by investigating the anti-diarrheal activity of the stem bark extract of cashew trees. Their promising observations have been made available online on 21st July 2020 and published in Volume 11 Issue 6 of the Journal of Pharmaceutical Analysis in December 2021.

Caused by various factors such as food intolerance, microbial infections, drugs, and intestinal disorders, diarrhea is a major public health concern, and accounts for significant pediatric fatality. Usually, the disease manifests as increased gut motility. To explore the anti-diarrheal mechanism of cashew stem bark extract, the researchers focused on the cellular pathways and key molecular players involved in abnormal gut motility and designed a series of lab-based experiments.

Dr. Adewole explains, “Diarrhea results from increased smooth muscle activity of the intestine, which is typically controlled by three neurophysiological pathways, dopaminergic, cholinergic, and serotonergic. Therefore, our experimental approach was to artificially stimulate gastric motility through each of these pathways and then see which of these were inhibited by the cashew stem bark extract. Our experiments were divided into two parts, in vivo, conducted in live mice, and in vitro, conducted on intestinal cells.”

The team administered gastrointestinal motility-inducing drugs, namely metoclopramide (a dopamine receptor antagonist), carbachol (an acetylcholine receptor agonist), and serotonin (which stimulates serotonergic receptors), to separate groups of mice. Three other groups received the same medications but were pretreated with cashew stem bark extract.

They found that a prepared ethyl acetate fraction of the extract (labelled AoEF) most significantly inhibited the cholinergic pathway of gastric emptying and gastrointestinal transit but had no effect on the other two pathways, giving a better insight into the extract’s mechanism of action.

As part of the in vitro experiments, the researchers isolated strips from the intestine of guinea pigs and found that at a higher concentration, AoEF efficiently and reversibly relaxed these strips. This was seen even in strips that were pre-treated with AoEF and then treated with prokinetic molecules like histamine, serotonin, and acetylcholine.

Further, using gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy, the team identified 24 components present in AoEF. Bioinformatics-based studies revealed that among these compounds, octadecanoic acid 2-(2-hydroxylethoxy)ethyl ester had the highest binding affinity to muscarinic acetylcholine receptor M3 (CHRM3). This allowed the team to piece together evidence from all the different experiments and arrive at a possible mode of action of the extract.

“CHRM3 is a receptor involved in cholinergic signaling in smooth muscle tissues of the gastrointestinal tract, and is involved in the pathogenesis of diarrhea,” Dr. Adewole tells us. “So, we concluded that AoEF relaxed and reduced gastrointestinal motility by blocking the muscarinic (or cholinergic) receptors responsible for the same.”

Amalgamating the power of traditional knowledge and modern science, Dr. Adewole and his team are hoping their discovery will encourage the formulation of new low-cost remedies for treating and managing diarrhea. Traditional medicine systems still hold a position of trust in diverse communities across the world, owing to their economic, sustainable, and health-friendly benefits. Encouraged by the results reported for the humble cashew tree, one can certainly hope the bridge between modern science and traditional wisdom will be strengthened for identifying nature-based remedies of humanity’s common ailments.   

 

***

 

Reference

Authors: Blessing O. Omolaso a, Francis S. Oluwole b, Olugbenga A. Odukanmi b, Julius K. Adesanwo c, Ahmed A. Ishola d, Kayode E. Adewole e*

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpha.2020.06.009

Affiliations            

a Department of Physiology, University of Medical Sciences, Nigeria

b Department of Physiology, University of Ibadan, Nigeria

c Department of Chemistry, Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria

d Central Research Laboratories Limited, University Road Ilorin, Nigeria

e Department of Biochemistry, University of Medical Sciences, Nigeria

 

About Dr. Kayode E. Adewole

Dr. Adewole is a senior lecturer in Department of Biochemistry, University of Medical Sciences, Nigeria. He received his MSc degree in 2007 and PhD degree in 2017 in Biochemistry from University of Ibadan and University of Ilorin, Nigeria, respectively. His areas of interest include biochemical toxicology, exploration of phytomedicine and phytochemicals as anticancer, anti-malarial and therapeutic agents against other diseases. He is a member of various prestigious organizations such as West Africa Research Association, Society of Toxicology, Royal Society of Chemistry. He has published more than 30 articles in reputed research journals.



Journal

Journal of Pharmaceutical Analysis

DOI

10.1016/j.jpha.2020.06.009

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Animals

Article Title

Evaluation of the gastrointestinal anti-motility effect of Anacardium occidentale stem bark extract: A mechanistic study of antidiarrheal activity

Article Publication Date

1-Dec-2021

COI Statement

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest

Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

Scientist in laboratory

Biological cleanup discovered for certain “forever chemicals”

May 31, 2023
Anomalodonta and vanuxemia

The clams that fell behind, and what they can tell us about evolution and extinction

May 31, 2023

Shedding light on the complex flow dynamics within the small intestine

May 31, 2023

Genetic change increased bird flu severity during U.S. spread

May 30, 2023

POPULAR NEWS

  • plants

    Plants remove cancer causing toxins from air

    39 shares
    Share 16 Tweet 10
  • Element creation in the lab deepens understanding of surface explosions on neutron stars

    36 shares
    Share 14 Tweet 9
  • Groundbreaking study uncovers first evidence of long-term directionality in the origination of human mutation, fundamentally challenging Neo-Darwinism

    115 shares
    Share 46 Tweet 29
  • How life and geology worked together to forge Earth’s nutrient rich crust

    35 shares
    Share 14 Tweet 9

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Biological cleanup discovered for certain “forever chemicals”

The clams that fell behind, and what they can tell us about evolution and extinction

Shedding light on the complex flow dynamics within the small intestine

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 50 other subscribers
  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In