Antidiabetic and Antioxidant Effect of Scoparia dulcis in Alloxan induced Albino Mice

Abstract: Herbal drugs are frequently considered to be less toxic and also free from side effects, than synthetic ones. Hence, the present study was designed to evaluate antidiabetic and antioxidant principle of the ethanolic extract of Scoparia dulcis (EESD) for its antidiabetic and antioxidant potential against alloxan-induced diabetic mice. Hypoglycemic effect was evaluated in normal and alloxan induced diabetic mice The oral administration of plant extract at a dose of 100 & 200 mg/kg body weight were given to fasting glucose loaded (200 mg/kg body weight) mice with regard to normal control during 3 hr. study period and in alloxan-induced (150 mg/kg body weight) diabetic mice in comparison with reference drug, Metformin (600µg/kg) during 2 weeks study period. Considerable fall in elevated blood glucose level was observed in the normoglycemic (p<0.05) and alloxan induced diabetic (p<0.001) mice. The extract, at a dose of 100 & 200 mg/kg body weight showed glucose level reduction of 31.87% & 46.97% respectively in alloxaninduced diabetic mice while 50.74% was found for Metformin after 2 weeks. The antioxidant potential of ethanolic extract of plant was assessed by DPPH (1, 1-Diphenyl, 2-picryl-hydrazyl) free radical scavenging assay at 517 nm and total antioxidant capacity by phosphomolybdenum method at 695 nm.The extract showed petite free radical scavenging capacity (IC 50 value 243.82 μg/ml for plant extract and 58.92 μg/ml for Ascorbic acid) and moderate total antioxidant capacity compared with Ascorbic acid. These results demonstrate the antidiabetic and antioxidant potential of ethanolic extracts of Scoparia dulcis and suggests that the plant may have therapeutic value in diabetes and related complications

The use of plants in the traditional management of diabetes in Nigeria: Pharmacological and toxicological considerations

Ethnopharmacological relevance: The prevalence of diabetes is on a steady increase worldwide and it is now identified as one of the main threats to human health in the 21st century. In Nigeria, the use of herbal medicine alone or alongside prescription drugs for its management is quite common. We hereby carry out a review of medicinal plants traditionally used for diabetes management in Nigeria. Based on the available evidence on the species׳ pharmacology and safety, we highlight ways in which their therapeutic potential can be properly harnessed for possible integration into the country׳s healthcare system. Materials and methods: Ethnobotanical information was obtained from a literature search of electronic databases such as Google Scholar, Pubmed and Scopus up to 2013 for publications on medicinal plants used in diabetes management, in which the place of use and/or sample collection was identified as Nigeria. ‘Diabetes’ and ‘Nigeria’ were used as keywords for the primary searches; and then ‘Plant name – accepted or synonyms’, ‘Constituents’, ‘Drug interaction’ and/or ‘Toxicity’ for the secondary searches. Results: The hypoglycemic effect of over a hundred out of the 115 plants reviewed in this paper is backed by preclinical experimental evidence, either in vivo or in vitro. One-third of the plants have been studied for their mechanism of action, while isolation of the bioactive constituent(s) has been accomplished for twenty three plants. Some plants showed specific organ toxicity, mostly nephrotoxic or hepatotoxic, with direct effects on the levels of some liver function enzymes. Twenty eight plants have been identified as in vitro modulators of P-glycoprotein and/or one or more of the cytochrome P450 enzymes, while eleven plants altered the levels of phase 2 metabolic enzymes, chiefly glutathione, with the potential to alter the pharmacokinetics of co-administered drugs. Conclusion: This review, therefore, provides a useful resource to enable a thorough assessment of the profile of plants used in diabetes management so as to ensure a more rational use. By anticipating potential toxicities or possible herb–drug interactions, significant risks which would otherwise represent a burden on the country׳s healthcare system can be avoided

Potencial antidiabético de plantas medicinales de la Amazonía peruana: Una revisión

La diabetes mellitus es un trastorno metabólico caracterizado por la presencia de hiperglucemia crónica acompañada, en mayor o menor medida, de alteraciones en el metabolismo de carbohidratos, proteínas y lípidos, es la principal causa de muerte en los países desarrollados. Los tratamientos actuales con fármacos anti-diabéticos presentan varios efectos adversos, por lo que se ha iniciado una búsqueda de nuevos hipoglucemiantes orales a partir de especies vegetales. Esta revisión presenta las plantas medicinales de la amazonia peruana utilizadas en el tratamiento de la diabetes y una revisión sistemática de sus propiedades hipoglucémicas reportadas en la literatura en los últimos veinte años utilizando bases de datos bibliográficas. Se reportan 77 plantas medicinales utilizadas para el tratamiento de la diabetes por pobladores amazónicos, de las cuales el 46.75% reporta actividad hipoglucémica, evidenciando que el conocimiento tradicional es una fuente para la búsqueda de fármacos antidiabéticos y una alternativa para futuras investigaciones.Revisión por pares

Evaluation of herb-drug interactions in Nigeria with a focus on medicinal plants used in diabetes management

Studies have shown an increasing use of herbal medicines alongside conventional drugs by patients in their disease management especially for chronic diseases, with the attendant risks of herb-drug interactions. In order to forestall this, adequate information about the pharmacological and toxicological profile of herbal medicines and how these would in turn affect the bioavailability of the co-administered drug is required. To evaluate potential herb-drug interactions that could occur in diabetes management in Nigeria- (a) An assessment of available data on the pharmacological and toxicological effects of plants used in diabetes management was conducted as a means of mapping those with identified potential risks for herb-drug interactions; (b) A field work study was carried out in different localities in Nigeria to identify potential pharmacokinetic interactions based on the prescription drugs and herbal medicines co-administered by diabetic patients; and (c) Experimental analysis of plant samples collected during the field work was done to assess their effects on known cell detoxification mechanisms and pharmacokinetic parameters. The results of the research have confirmed the continued use of a wide range of medicinal plants in diabetes management, many of which have not been thoroughly investigated. In addition, 50% of diabetic patients visiting healthcare facilities in Nigeria routinely manage their diabetes or existing co-morbidities with herbal medicines alongside prescription drugs. Even more worrying is the frequent use of unlabeled herbal preparations which would constitute a huge challenge in the proper identification of herb-drug interactions when they occur. Based on previously available data and the experimental results of this research, a number of these herbal medicines have been identified as having overlapping interactions with prescription drugs. There is therefore a need for better regulation of herbal medicine use alongside pharmacovigilance monitoring in Nigeria in order to forestall the occurrence of clinically relevant untoward herb-drug interactions

Plants used to treat diabetes in Sri Lankan Siddha Medicine

In recent decades diabetes, most notably type 2, has become a considerable health problem in countries like Sri Lanka. Siddha Medicine is one of the four traditional medicines practised in Sri Lanka. α-Glucosidase inhibitors are one of the drugs types currently used to treat type 2 diabetes. However, they cause adverse side effects. The aims of this project are to identify, document, and make publicly available the plants historically and currently utilised to treat diabetes in Sri Lankan Siddha Medicine and identify one or more compounds capable of inhibiting α-glucosidase from the various plants studied. Historical documents used as Siddha Medicine degree textbooks in Sri Lankan universities were employed to obtain details on the plant species historically utilised. Apart from this, an ethnobotanical survey was carried out in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka to identify the plant species currently used by Siddha empirical healers. Based on both the information from the historical documents and survey as well as the elimination of globally distributed and very well studied plant species, Achyranthes aspera, Coccinia grandis, Ipomoea aquatica, Mukia maderaspatana, and Artocarpus heterophyllus were selected for further study. The α-glucosidase inhibition assay was used to test inhibitory activity and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy was employed for metabolite profiling. In addition, Orthogonal Partial Least Square - Discriminant Analysis was employed to identify the compounds that showed α-glucosidase inhibition. Overall 171 species in 73 families were identified from the historical documents. Among them, Senna auriculata had been the most frequently cited species and the largest number of taxa was from the Fabaceae. Consultations with 27 Siddha empirical healers revealed 88 species from 46 families are currently used, while Syzygium cumini was the most frequently reported species. Remarkably, one-third of the currently used species was not listed in the historical documents. Again, Fabaceae yielded the largest number of species applied. The literature review of the documented plant species revealed that the majority of the species had in vivo antidiabetic evidence and the most number of studies were conducted in Type 1 diabetes models. The methanol extract of mature A. heterophyllus leaf exhibited the highest α-glucosidase inhibitory activity among the various extracts tested. Additionally, 38 samples of mature A. heterophyllus leaves had a range of IC50 values from 7.56 to 185.03 µg/ml. There was a correlation observed between the α-glucosidase inhibitory activity and the climatic conditions of the region from which the plant specimens used to prepare the extract was collected and the phytochemical composition. Metabolite profiling identified that Artoheterophyllin B might be the α-glucosidase inhibitory compound found in the mature A. heterophyllus leaves. Hence, further phytochemical and pharmacological studies should be carried out to confirm this. This work created the foundation for more efficient studies of antidiabetic Sri Lankan SM preparations and the plants utilised in the future

Biochemical analysis of Cassia fistula aqueous extract and phytochemically synthesized gold nanoparticles as hypoglycemic treatment for diabetes mellitus

Cassia fistula stem bark was used for the preparation of aqueous extract and synthesis of gold nanoparticles to evaluate the hypoglycemic effects of the plant. The synthesized gold nanoparticles were characterized by ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy for their absorbance pattern, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy to identify possible functional groups, and scanning electron microscopy to determine the size of the nanoparticles. The present investigation reports the efficacy of the gold nanoparticles as promising in the treatment of hyperglycemia. Body weight, serum glucose concentrations, liver function tests, kidney function tests, and lipid profile were analyzed. A significantly larger decrease in serum biochemistry parameters and an increase in body weight, total protein levels, and high-density lipoprotein were observed in rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes treated with gold nanoparticles than in the ones treated with the aqueous extract. The results of this study confirm that C. fistula gold nanoparticles have promising antidiabetic properties

Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants in urban home gardens in the city of Abaetetuba, Pará state, Brazil

This was an ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants occurring in home gardens in the northern Brazilian Pará state. We conducted semi-structured interviews with the owners of 233 home gardens selected by probability sampling. We analyzed the data qualitatively, complemented by indices Total Species Diversity and Total Species Equitability (SDtot and SEtot, respectively); Use Value (UVs); Importance Value (IVs); and Informant Consensus Factor (ICF). We identified 124 species within 107 genera and 55 families. Of the medicinal species identified, 17.6% were considered effective in the treatment of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases. The home gardens evaluated harbored a great diversity of medicinal species (SDtot-47.43), although knowledge of the plants was not distributed evenly (SEtot- 0.383). Kalanchoe pinnata (Lam.) Pers. showed the highest UVs (0.462) and Lippia alba (Mill.) N.E.Br. ex Britton & P.Wilson showed the highest IVs (0.104). The highest ICF value (0.94) was for the treatment of Behavioural Disorders

Isolation, Characterization and Evaluation of Antidiabetic Activity on Leaves of Merremia Hederacea (Burm. F.) Hallier F.

The global human population emerges to be in the midst of an epidemic of diabetes. In spite of the enormous steps that have been made in the perceptive and executive of diabetes, the disease and disease related problems are increasing spontaneously. Equivalent to this, current investigations and studies in understanding the pathophysiology of the disease process have opened up numerous novel avenues to recognize and expand new therapies to fight the diabetic condition. Simultaneously, phytochemicals bioactive compounds identified from traditional medicinal plants are presenting an exhilarating prospect for the improvement of novel therapeutics. This has step up the world wide effort to exploit and collect those medicinal plants that bear considerable amount of potential phytochemicals presenting multiple beneficial effects in combating with diabetes and diabetes-related difficulties. Therefore, as the disease is progressing alarming rates, there is an urgent need of identifying indigenous natural resources in order to procure them, and study in detail, their potential on different newly identified targets in order to develop them as new therapeutics. In these regard we have made an attempt to investigate the in vitro and in vivo anti diabetic activity of Merremia hederacea. The isolated pure compound has been attempted for molecular docking studies. From all these observations it is concluded that ethanol extract of Merremia hederacea possess significant antidiabetic activity. The concentration of blood glucose was significantly increased in STZ induced diabetic as compared to normal control. Administration of ETMH (200 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg) significantly reduced the raised blood glucose level in STZ induced diabetic rats and the lowering was almost comparable to glibenclamide 5mg/kg.). The blood glucose lowering effect of the ETMH could be due to the presence of novel chalcone (2',4,4'-trihydroxy-3'–(methyl-2-butenyl) chalcone) which is isolated from the leaf of this plant by column chromatography in this study. The isolated compound is characterized by HPLC/PDA/MS, 1HNMR & IR. From the observations of molecular docking studies and in vitro anti diabetic and anti cancer activity of the isolated compound (2',4,4'-trihydroxy-3'–(methyl-2-butenyl) chalcone) it has been concluded that chalcones are, undoubtedly, promising anti-diabetic agents, and some crucial structural features have already been CONCLUSION Department Of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, MMC Page 82 established. From the structure-activity relationships analysis, it can generally be stated that the presence of hydroxyl, prenyl and geranyl groups in their skeleton improves their activity for the evaluated antidiabetic targets. The compound shows greater percentage inhibition for alpha glucosidase at 320μg compared to standard and has a good docking score of -11.28 Kcal-1 against diabetic target protein, alpha glucosidase. The 2′, 4, 4′ -Trihydroxy-3′-(3-methyl-2- butenyl) chalcone shows good anticancer activity against liver cancer cell line (HepG2) compared to the standard 5 fluro Uracil. The compound has a docking score of – 9.56 kcal/mol against cancer target protein. FUTURE PROSPECTS The isolated 2, 4, 4′ -Trihydroxy-3′-(3-methyl-2-butenyl) chalcone will be focused for lipid encapsulation nanotechnology and will be investigated in future for effective drug delivery system. The isolated 2, 4, 4′ -Trihydroxy-3′-(3-methyl-2-butenyl)chalcone will be evaluated in future for enzyme inhibition assay of Protein tyrosine Phosphatase 1b ( the diabetic target protein). The isolated 2, 4, 4′ -Trihydroxy-3′-(3-methyl-2-butenyl)chalcone will be evaluated in future for in vitro anti tubercular activity

Attenuation of hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats by chloroform extract of fruits of Ferocactus latispinus and Ferocactus histrix

Los efectos hipoglucemiantes de extractos obtenidos con hexano, cloroformo y metanol a partir de frutos de Ferocactus latispinus y Ferocactus histrix fueron evaluados por la administración oral a ratas normales y con diabetes severa (SD) inducida por estreptozotocina. Los extractos más activos fueron obtenidos con cloroformo el cuál incrementa los niveles de SOD, GR, GSHPx y el CAT, el contenido de glucógeno hepático, la glucosa-6-fosfatasa (G6Pase) y los niveles de insulina plasmática. También producen disminución de la glucoquinasa (GK) y TBARS. De las dos plantas estudiadas la F. latispinus presento mayor actividad antihiperglicemiante y antihiperlipidémicos que la F. histrix. En conclusión F. latispinus y F. histrix pueden mejorar la hiperlipidemia y la hipoinsulinemia en animales diabéticos inducida por estreptozotocina. Estos resultados demostraron que F. latispinus y F. histrix utilizadas normalmente como un alimento saludable, tiene fuertes efectos antidiabéticos in vivo, por lo tanto, pueden tener propiedades beneficiosas en la prevención de la diabetes.The hypoglycemic effects of hexane, chloroform and methanol extracts from fruits of Ferocactus latispinus and Ferocactus histrix were evaluated by oral administration to normoglucemic and streptozotocin-induced severe diabetic rats (SD). The anti-diabetic effect was examined by blood glucose, triglycerides, lipid peroxidation, total cholesterol levels in the serum, glycogen content of liver and skeletal muscles, superoxide dismutase (SOD) catalase (CAT), glutathione reductase (GR) and glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx) levels. The most active extracts were obtained with chloroform. Chloroform extracts from F. latispinus and F. histrix increased activities of SOD, GR, GSHPx and CAT, hepatic glycogen content, glucose-6-phosphatase (G6Pase) and the plasma insulin levels. They also, decreased glucokinase (GK) and TBAR (thiobarbituric acid assay). Of the two plants studied F. latispinus showed better antihyperglycemic and antihyperlipidemic effects that F. histrix. In conclusion F. latispinus and F. histrix possesses significant antihyperglycemic properties after 4 h after a single oral dose. It can also improve hyperlipidemia and hypoinsulinemia in streptozotocin-induced diabetic. These results demonstrated that F. latispinus and F. histrix typically used as a health food, has strong antidiabetic effects in vivo, thus, it may have beneficial properties in the prevention of diabetes