Ethanol extract of Celery (Apium graviolense) dissolved bilirubin gallstones in vitro
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Date
2020
Authors
Ajala, Olusegun, Samson
Fajolu, Oluwatobiloba
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
West African Journal of Pharmacy
Abstract
Background:
Oral litholysis is the medical alternative to the surgical treatment of cholelithiasis. While it is modestly
effective against the cholesterol type, it is completely of no effect against the bilirubin (or pigment) type. Whole
celery plant is used in ethnomedicine for gallstone-related diseases and could be a source of new gallstone
dissolving agents with possible bilirubin stone-dissolving capabilities.
Objectives: This work was aimed at investigating the potential dissolution capacity of an ethanol extract of whole
celery plant on bilirubin gallstones in vitro.
Methods:
Gallstones obtained from a female sickle cell patient were collected from the department of surgery,
Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) Lagos, Nigeria, and confirmed bilirubin gallstones by morphological and
UV spectrophotometric analyses. The dissolution capacity of an ethanol extract of celery on the gallstones was
evaluated in vitro by stirring three separate Pre-weighed gall stones in 1 % w/v aqueous solution of the crude
extract over 72 hours, checking the gall stones for weight reduction every 10 minutes for 2 hours; hourly up to 5
hours and then 24 hourly from 24 to 72 hours. Average weight reduction % was calculated at each point of
measurement and compared, using t-test, with that of the control experiment in which an equal volume of distilled
water was used in place of the extract suspension.
Results:
The ethanol celery extract was found to cause a weight reduction % that was significantly higher than that
of the negative control at each point of measurement, p < 0.001.
Conclusion: This experiment has shown that ethanol extract of celery has bilirubin gallstone dissolving capacity
and could therefore be further explored for the discovery of new gallstone dissolving agents with possible bilirubin
gallstone-dissolving capacity.
Description
Keywords
Gallstone disease, Bilirubin cholelithiasis, Celery, Gallstone Oral litholysis