Ameliorative Effects of Virgin Coconut Oil in Loperamide Induced Constipation in rats

Constipation is one of the most common gastrointestinal disorders that affects people of all ages and is mostly treated using orthodox drugs that often have side effects; therefore, this research aims to investigate the effects of a natural product; virgin coconut oil (VCO) in the treatment of loperamide induced constipation in rats. Twenty-five male Wistar rats weighing 80-100 g were divided into 5 groups as follows: Group 1 was control group that received 5 mL/kg/day normal saline (NS) only. All the other groups were treated with 4 mg/Kg loperamide to induce constipation. After 1 hour of loperamide treatment, Group 2 were treated with 5 mL/Kg NS, Group 3, 0.6 mL/day VCO (MVCO); Group 4, 0.9 mL/day VCO (HVCO) and Group 5 rats, 2 mg/Kg bisacodyl. The period of treatment was 3 days, and they were administered orally. Daily food consumption, number, weight and water content of feces, and intestinal transit time of charcoal meal were determined. Result showed that food consumption was significantly (P < 0.05) lower in loperamide alone group than other groups of animals. By days 1 and 3, the number of fecal pellets, weight of wet feces, weight of dry feces, and water content of feces in MVCO treated and control rats were significantly (P <0.05) higher than loperamide +NS. The intestinal transit time in MVCO treated rats (54.47 ± 3.22%) was however not significantly different from loperamide + NS (56.51 ± 2.51%). In conclusion, VCO ameliorated loperamide induced constipation by increasing the frequency of defecation, weight and water content of feces.