Acta Pharm. 52 (2002) 219-226

Potential application of Garcinia kola seed as a natural antidote for the management of ciprofloxacin poisoning: An in vitro study

CHARLES O. ESIMONE,^1*   MICHAEL U. ADIKWU,¹ EMMANUEL C. IBEZIM,¹ SABINUS I. OFOEFULE²  SUNDAY V. NWAFOR³  and  OGECHUKWU MADUKA ONUOHA¹

coesimone@hotmail.com

¹Department of Pharmaceutics
²Department of Pharmaceutical Technology and Industrial Pharmacy
³Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Nigeria,
Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria

The present study compares the adsorptive potential of Garcinia kola (Guttiferae) seed (GKS) for ciprofloxacin hydrochloride (CIP) with that of a standard adsorbent and a general poison antidote, activated charcoal (AC), using an in vitro design. In unbuffered medium (distilled water), the adsorption isotherms were shown to follow the classical Langmuir type 1 isotherm. GKS showed a higher adsorptive capacity for CIP than AC. Increased ionic strength generally decreased the adsorptive potentials of both adsorbents. Optimum ciprofloxacin adsorption occurred at pH 7 even though a clinically significant quantity (above 60%) was adsorbed by both adsorbents at all the tested pH ranges. While AC may be adsorbing CIP exclusively through surface accumulation and ion exchange, a combination of complexation and ion-exchange may be responsible for the GKS-CIP interaction. We bring to limelight the potential usefulness of the GKS extract as an alternative antidote in the management of poisoning caused by ciprofloxacin. Hence, attention is drawn to the fact that concurrent intake of GKS and ciprofloxacin should be contraindicated because of the possibility of greatly impairing the drug's bioavailability.

Keywords: Garcinia kola (Guttiferae) seed, poisoning, adsorption, ciprofloxacin, activated charcoal