A comparative diuretic evaluation of fruit and root of ( Linn.) in albino rats.

Background: (root of Linn.) is one among the ingredients of , a group of ten medicinal plants principally comprising roots as the useful part. In practice instead of root, fruit of is widely used in most of the preparations of in Kerala. occupies a significant role in a wide range of Ayurvedic formulations and holds a major share in the drug manufacturing industry. This high demand of , leads the use of fruit instead of its root and implies the need to compare the efficacy of root and fruit of .

Aim: This study is planned to assess whether fruit of can be substituted for its root using the parameter of diuretic activity in Wistar albino rats.

Materials And Methods: Wistar albino rats were divided in to four groups. The group I control group and group II standard group was orally administered with carboxymethyl cellulose 2% in normal saline and furosemide (20 mg/kg) respectively. Group III was administered orally with decoction of root and groups IV with fruit decoction, with a dose of 8.64 ml/kg. The diuretic effect was evaluated by measuring urine volume, Na, K and Cl ion content in urine. The results were analyzed by applying one-way ANOVA and LSD Post hoc pairwise comparison test.

Results: Both test drugs in group III and group IV provided significant increase in urine output when compared to the control group ( < 0.001). Decoction of root provided a significant increase in comparison to decoction of fruit in regards of sodium ( < 0.01), potassium ( < 0.001), and chloride ion ( < 0.05) excretion.

Conclusion: Diuretic action of both root and fruit of is similar in terms of urine volume, but root is more effective in the basis of ionic excretion. Hence, while treating patients suffering from ionic imbalance, it is better to use fruit of for protecting the ionic balance during diuresis. In all other conditions, root can be used for a better diuretic activity.