Studies on the activity of Cyperus rotundus Linn. tubers against infectious diarrhea

Abstract

To study the antidiarrheal activity of the decoction of <i>Cyperus rotundus</i> Linn. tubers using representative assays of diarrheal pathogenesis and understand its mechanism of action.Antibacterial, antigiardial and antirotaviral activities were studied. Effect on adherence of enteropathogenic <i>Escherichia coli </i>(EPEC) and invasion of enteroinvasive <i>E. coli</i> (EIEC) and Shigella flexneri to HEp-2 cells was evaluated as a measure of effect on colonization. Effect on enterotoxins such as enterotoxigenic <i>E. coli </i>(ETEC) heat labile toxin (LT), heat stable toxin (ST) and cholera toxin (CT) was also assessed. The decoction showed antigiardial activity, reduced bacterial adherence to and invasion of HEp-2 cells and affected production of CT and action of LT. The decoction of <i>C. rotundus</i> does not have marked antimicrobial activity and exerts its antidiarrheal action by mechanisms other than direct killing of the pathogen.