Abstract
The plant Guiera senegalensis is commonly used in improving lactation in the North western part of Nigeria. Aqueous extract of the plant Guiera senegalensis known as ‘Sabara’ in Hausa language, was investigated for possible milk production effect in wistar rats. Six groups of five lactating rats each were dosed. Group A was used as the negative control and Group F which received 0.1 IU of oxytocin was used as positive control. The other four groups (B, C, D, and E) received 50mg, 100mg, 200mg, and 400mg of the extract respectively. Group C showed the highest response with statistical significance at P<0.05 when compared to groups A, D, E, and the positive control (group F). Isolated tissue experiment using the Ugo Basile micro dynamometer showed that the extract was able to stimulate uterine contractions at a dose of 0.3 mg/ml, but no contractions were recorded at 0.6 mg/ml. There were no contractions seen when the extract was tested on intestinal tissue. Acetyl choline was used as a positive control in both the uterine and intestinal tissue the effect of acetyl choline was compared to the effect of the extract on both tissues. The experiment showed that higher concentrations of the plant extract were not capable of inducing smooth muscle contractions. The lack of smooth muscle contractions at higher doses was similar to what was observed in the milk production activity that was related to pup weight gain. Thus, milk production did not increase significantly with higher doses. In conclusion, the water extract of Guiera senegalensis has a positive galactagogue effect.

Key words: Key words: Guiera senegalensis, galactagogue, oxytocin, extract