Zaman Viqar, Manzoor Syed Munazza, Zaki Mehreen, Aziz Nauman, Gilani Anwar-ul-Hassan
Department of Microbiology, The Aga Khan University Medical College, Karachi 74800, Pakistan.
Phytother Res. 2002 Feb;16(1):78-9. doi: 10.1002/ptr.886.
The crude extract of psyllium husk (ispaghula) and its active constituent (petroleum fraction) caused varying degrees of growth inhibition in three different species of Entamoeba, i.e. Entamoeba histolytica, E. invadens and E. dispar. The inhibitory effect of the crude extract was in the dose range of 1-10 mg/mL, whereas a similar inhibitory effect was obtained with the petroleum fraction at a much lower dose (0.1-1.0 mg/mL), indicating that the active chemical(s) is/are concentrated in the petroleum fraction. These data support the traditional use of psyllium husk in amoebic dysentery.
