Abstract

Background: Extract of Buchholzia coriacea (BC) has been reported for its potent antimalarial effect. Unlike certain established antimalarial drugs reported for their roles in modifying saliva flow and components, BC effect on saliva is unknown. The effect of BC on saliva flow and its components was investigated.
Materials and Methods: Thirty Male Wistar rats 150.7 ± 13.3 g were used for the study. They were grouped into six (n=5) and treated with the various component of BC extract for 2 weeks. Group 1 (control) received distilled water, groups 2-6 received 200 mg/kg of the oily portion of the extract, 100 mg/kg, 200 mg/kg of the crude extract, 200 mg/kg absolute ethanol and 200 mg/kg aqueous ethanol fractions of BC respectively. Body weight, salivary flow rate, electrolyte compositions and morphological changes were determined using standard methods. Values were expressed as Mean ± standard error of mean, compared, analysed and considered significant at p

Key words: Buchholzia coriacea; electrolytes; histology; rats; salivary flow