10ANTI DIARRHOEAL ACTIVITY OF DIOSCOREA OPPOSITIFOLIA L. (DIOSCOREACEAE) TUBERSIn the traditional system of medicine, the Dioscorea oppsitifolia (dioscoreaceae) have been employed for treating ulcer, fever, diarrhoea leprosy, piles. The present study was undertaking to investigate the anti diarrhoeal effect of Dioscorea oppsitifolia against castor oil-induced-diarrhoea model in rats. Standard drug atropine (3mg/kg, i.p) showed significant reductions in fecal output and frequency of droppings whereas MEDO at the doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg i.p significantly retarded the castor-oil induced intestinal transit. The gastrointestinal transit rate was expressed as the percentage of the longest distance travelled by the charcoal divided by the total length of the small intestine. The results obtained establish the efficacy and substantiate the folklore claim as an anti- diarrheal agent.jhansi.m39@gmail.comResearch212012 Antidiarrhoeal activity,Dioscorea oppsitifolia, Traditional medicine, Castor oil- induced diarrhoeaM. Jhansi Rani,S. Mohana LakshmiDepartment of Pharmacognosy, Sree Vidyanikethan College of Pharmacy, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India.,Department of Pharmacognosy, Sree Vidyanikethan College of Pharmacy, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India.