Lannea kerstingii Engl. and K. Krause is used in Nigeria and Northern Côte d’Ivoire for the management of diarrhea. Crude methanolic extract of stem bark of Lannea kerstingii was evaluated on isolated rabbit jejunum and castor oil-induced diarrhea model in rats. The methanolic extract of Lannea kerstingii (1, 10 and 100 mg/ml) produced a dose dependent transient contractile response followed by relaxation of isolated rabbit jejunum. In the castor oil-induced diarrhea model, 60.0% protections was produced by the extract. These results revealed that the methanolic extract of the stem bark of Lannea kerstingii (300 and 600 mg/Kg) have antidiarrhea activity. The effects on smooth muscle showed the usefulness of the Lannea kerstingii in the management of diarrhea. The effect of Lannea kerstingii was not as comparable to that of loperamide, a strong antidiarrhea drug, in castor oil induced diarrhea. This may partially explain the use in traditional medicine for the treatment of diarrhea. These results support their use in folk medicine.
