Antidiarrhoeal activities of carbazole alkaloids form Murraya koenigii Spreng (Rutaceae) seeds

Abstract

The bioassay guided fractionation of the n-hexane extract of the seeds of Murraya koenigii Spreng (Rutaceae) resulted in the isolation of three bioactive carbazole alkaloids, kurryam (I), koenimbine (II) and koenine (III). The structures of the compounds were confirmed from their 1H-, 13C-, and 2D-NMR spectral data. Of the three compounds (I) and (II) exhibited significant inhibitory activity against castor oil-induced diarrhoea and PGE2-induced enteropooling in rats. The compounds also produced a significant reduction in gastrointestinal motility in the charcoal meal test in Wister rats.