Quantitative analysis confirms stomach treatment

Using mass chromatography methods, a team of scientists have isolated compounds which may be useful in the treatment of some stomach conditions.

In a study published by BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, the scientists sought to investigate the antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of the methanol extract, fractions and isolated compounds of Entada abyssinica stem bark.

The plant has always been traditionally used in the treatment of gastrointestinal infections and the team hoped to discover a scientific reason to support this action.

In a process involving column chromatography and quantitative analysis, they separated compounds from the methanol extract of E. abyssinica stem bark.

The scientists found that fractionation increased the antibacterial activities of some fractions, while the antifungal activities increased in others.

Following the process, they determined that the results support the theory that E.abyssinica stem bark can be used in the treatment of gastrointestinal infections.

Furthermore, isolated compounds could play a part in the standardisation of antimicrobial phytomedicine from the plant.