2.7. Castor Oil-Induced Diarrhea Model

Thirty Swiss albino mice of either sex were deprived of food for 18 hours with free access to water and divided randomly into five groups, as mentioned above. After 1 hour of treatment with the vehicle (distilled water), solvent fractions (100 mg/kg, 200 mg/kg, and 400 mg/kg), and loperamide (3 mg/kg), diarrhea was induced by oral administration of 0.5 ml of castor oil to each mouse. Following their administration, the animals were placed individually into metabolic cages in which the floor was lined with transparent paper for the collection of fecal matter. The transparent paper was changed every hour for a total of 4 hours. The mice were then removed from their cages and the weight of feces was obtained by subtracting the weight of filter paper from the weight of feces and filter paper. The onset of diarrhea, the number of wet stools, the total number, and the total weight of fecal output were noted. Finally, the percentage of diarrheal inhibition, as well as the percentage of the weight of total fecal output, was calculated by using the following formulas [22]: