Diarrhea, a life-threatening gastrointestinal disorder linked to dehydration, remains a global health challenge. While Thymus schimperi is popularly employed in Ethiopian folk medicine for diarrheal conditions, its scientific efficacy is unproven. To assess the antidiarrheal effect of 80% methanol extract and solvent fractions of the leaf of Thymus schimperi in mice. The coarse leaf powder was extracted through soaking by utilizing 80% methanol and separated with distilled water and chloroform. The in vivo antidiarrheal effect was investigated via enteropooling, antimotility tests, and castor oil-induced diarrhea models, with five groups of mice comprising five individuals per group. Negative controls were given 2% Tween 80 or distilled water, while the positive controls were treated with 3 mg/kg of loperamide. 80% methanol extract and fractions were given at doses of 100, 200, and 400 mg/kg. Diarrhea onset time, total and wet stool number and weight, the percent decrease in wet stool number, volume and weight of intraluminal items, and percentage of gastrointestinal transit inhibition were documented. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 25, with significance assessed via one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey's post hoc test. A p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. The finding revealed that the extract, along with its chloroform and aqueous fractions, significantly inhibited castor oil-induced diarrhea at 400 mg/kg (p < 0.001) and 200 mg/kg (p < 0.01). Additionally, the extract and fractions minimized the intraluminal fluid retention, with the chloroform fraction showing significant effects at 400 mg/kg (p < 0.001) and 200 mg/kg (p < 0.00), while the 80% methanol extract and aqueous fraction were effective at all doses. Furthermore, the extract and fractions decreased gastrointestinal transit in a dose-related pattern, demonstrating significant activity at 100 mg/kg (p < 0.05), 200 mg/kg (p < 0.01), and 400 mg/kg (p < 0.001) in contrast to the vehicle-treated group. This finding illustrated that the 80% methanol extract of Thymus schimperi carried the strongest antidiarrheal efficacy, followed by the aqueous fraction, supportive of its traditional application for alleviating diarrhea.
Muleta et al. (Wed,) studied this question.