Actividad diurética del extracto metanólico de hojas de maracuyá (Passiflora edulis Sims) en ratas

introduction: passiflora edulis sims (maracuyá) is widely used in traditional medicine in many countries worldwide for treatment of diverse diseases due to its scientifically demonstrated antitumor, anti-inflammatory and antihypertensive effect; however, there are not preclinical studies on methanol extract diuretic activity from p. edulis leaves in rats. objectives: to determine the diuretic activity of above mentioned extract in rats. methods: twenty holtzman rats were used in this study divided into four groups (n= 5). previous fasting of 18 hours, all rats were hydrated using 5 ml/100 g of saline solution. group 1 received 5 ml/kg of this solution (negative control); group 2 received intraperitoneal furosemide in dose of 10 mg/kg (positive control); the groups 3 and 4 received intraperitoneal methanol extract from p. edulis leaves in dose of 200 and 400 mg/kg, respectively. results: at 24 hours, urine collectable volumes in groups treated with methanol extract from p. edulis leaves were significantly different from that of control group, but not from that in furosemide group. conclusions: diuretic activity of methanol extract from maracuyá leaves was demonstrated.