Antispasmodic and spasmolytic effects of methanolic extract from seeds of garcinia kola on isolated rat small intestine

Abstract

The antispasmodic and spasmolytic effects of methanolic extract of seeds of Garcinia kola Heckel were studied on smooth muscle preparations in vitro. The influence of the extract on rat duodenum, jejunum and ileum was investigated using acetylcholine and barium chloride as agonists. The extract exhibited dose-dependent antispasmodic effects on contractions induced by acetylcholine, and dose-dependent spasmolytic effects on spasms induced by cumulatively increased concentrations of acetylcholine and barium chloride. The graded log concentration- response curves for acetylcholine were non-parallel but shifted to the right in the presence of the extract. It is concluded that the Garcinia kola extract inhibits smooth muscle activity via other mechanisms but not involving neither cholinergic nor adrenergic receptor interaction.

Key words: Garcinia kola, small intestine, acetylcholine, antispasmodic effect.