Abstract

Diarrhoea, depending on the type is most characterized by the frequent passage of watery stool that may in some cases contains mucus and blood caused by either microorganisms, allergy or side effects of certain drugs.The efficacy of fermented beniseed liquor and the methanol extract in treating diarrhoea caused by Shigella dysenteriae in albino rats orogastrically infected with the bacteria was assessed. At the end of the experiment, microbiological, haematological, biochemical and liver functioning tests were performed on the blood from the animals. The results obtained from this analysis showed that the selected organism have high infectivity dose of 2.4  ×10³ cfu/ml within 24-36 hours in rats of 82-102 g, caused a significant reducing effect on the weight of the albino rats and negative effect on the hematological and biochemical parameters assessed. Treatment of infected animals with the fermented liquor and methanol extract of beniseeds showed that both caused a significantly quick recovery of the infected animals from diarrhoea caused by the bacteria within five days of treatment. However, the rate of recovery was faster with the group of infected rats treated with the fermented beniseed liquor than the extract. Also, treatment with methanol extract of beniseeds also caused a significant increase in the cholesterol level of the blood from the animals. The results obtained from theseanalyses showed that beniseed have therapeutic properties and that the fermented form is more effective and can be used to treat diarrhoea caused by the selected bacteria used in this study in albino rats. The effect is however not as fast as the control drugs.