Due to the shortcomings associated with modern synthetic antidiarrhoeal drugs, it is important to find newer, safer and cheaper antidiarrhoeal agents from natural sources. The study was conducted to evaluate the anti-diarrhoeal activity of the fractions of the stem-bark of Terminalia avicennioides in laboratory animal models. The effect of different concentrations (1.0 × 10^-3, 2.0 × 10^-3, 4.0 × 10^-3 and 8.0 × 10^-3 mg/mL) of the aqueous methanol (AMF), ethyl acetate (EAF) and hexane (HXF) fractions of T. avicennioides were tested against spontaneous and acetylcholine-induced contractions of rabbit jejunum as well as on histamine-induced contraction of guinea pig ileum. Similarly, the effects of the AMF on gastro-intestinal transit time, castor oil-induced diarrhoea and castor oil-induced enteropooling were evaluated. The AMF, EAF and HXF at concentrations of 1.0 × 10^-3, 2.0 × 10^-3, 4.0 × 10^-3 and 8.0 × 10^-3 mg/mL attenuated the contractile effects of both the spontaneous and acetylcholine-induced contractions of rabbit jejunum and that of histamine-induced contraction of guinea pig ileum in a concentration-dependent manner. The AMF at doses of 200, 300 and 500 mg/kg produced significant (p < 0.05) reductions in gastrointestinal transit time of charcoal and incidence of castor oil-induced diarrhoea in mice relative to the untreated control. Similarly, at doses of 300 and 500 mg/kg, AMF significantly (p < 0.05) reduced the weight and volume of intestinal fluid in the treated mice when compared to the untreated animals. The results of this study showed that the stem-bark of T. avicennioides possesses spasmolytic effect and could be a potential antidiarrhoeal agent. However, detailed pharmacological trials are required to justify the clinical use of the plant for treating diarrhoea.

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