Phytochemical screening and In vitro antioxidant potentials of extracts of ten medicinal plants used for the treatment of diabetes mellitus in Sri Lanka

Background: Over the last decade, extensive research work has focused on the potential health benefits of antioxidants while many medicinal plant extracts have been evaluated for their antioxidant profile. Medicinal plants selected for this study are widely used in traditional medicine for the treatment of diabetes mellitus in Sri Lanka some of which are recommended as dietary supplements to the existing therapies. The present study aimed at determining the total polyphenol contents and total antioxidant activities of aqueous extracts of 10 selected Sri Lankan medicinal plants by three in vitro methods;Materials and Methods: DPPH(2, 2-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl), FRAP (ferric reducing power) and NO (nitric oxide) assays. The aqueous plant extracts were tested at the concentration of 0.05 g/mL. The total polyphenol content was determined according to the Folin-Ciocalteu method while the total antioxidant activity was evaluated by DPPH, FRAP and NO assays with L-ascorbic acid as reference compound.Results: The total polyphenol content of the plant extracts varied from 0.41 to 13.00 mg GAE (gallic acid equivalents) per gram dry weight. The antioxidant activities ranged in IC50 of 36.89-101.27 μg/mL, IC50 of 139.56-419.93 μg/mL, 0.12-8.98 μM for DPPH, NO, FRAP assays, respectively. A significant positive correlation was observed between total polyphenol content and antioxidant activities (P< 0.05).Conclusion: Phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of polyphenolic compounds, alkaloids and flavonoids in the plant materials which also possessed in vitro antioxidant potentials. Polyphenolic compounds contribute significantly to the total antioxidant capacities of medicinal plant extracts.Key words: DPPH; FRAP; NO assay; total polyphenol conten

EFFECT OF ETHEPHON CONCENTRATION ON RAW RUBBER PROPERTIES OF NATURAL RUBBER; A QUALITATIVE APPROACH

Skilled tapper scarcity has become one of the main constrains in the rubber plantation industry. This is a current and it will be a future challenge faced by natural rubber industry. To overcome this problem low intensity harvesting (LIH) systems with ethephon (2-Chloroethylphosphonic acid) stimulation is widely adopted to reduce the number of tappings per year without the reduction in annual yields. The properties of raw rubber made out of stimulated latex have not been considered when establishing the maximum dose of ethephone to be applied. The present study discusses the magnitude of variations of some selected raw rubber properties which are of commercial significance. Experiments were laid out in completely randomized block design with six treatments and three replications under  half spiral based once in three days tapping system (1/2S d3). Results obtained revealed that LIH systems with ethephon stimulation does not have any adverse effect on  raw rubber properties and are well below the limits fixed by ISO standard up to 3% ET concentration. However, properties were negatively affected with the application of higher ET concentrations beyond 3%.Keywords:   ethephon concentration, Hevea brasiliensis, raw rubber properties, stimulation

Antihyperglycemic activity of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Coccinia grandis</i> (L.) Voigt in streptozotocin induced diabetic rats

376-381Coccinia grandis (L.) Voigt (Cucurbitaceae) has been popularly used in traditional Ayurvedic medicine for the treatment of diabetes mellitus in Sri Lanka. The present study was to investigate the long term effect of aqueous leaf extract of C. grandis on serum/blood glycemic parameters and regenerative potential of islet cells in the pancreas of streptozotocin induced diabetic rats. Diabetes was induced in rats by injecting them with streptozotocin (65 mg/kg, ip). Group one and two served as the healthy untreated, diabetic untreated control rats and received distilled water. Group three and four were diabetic rats, received the optimum effective dose of C. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">grandis (0.75 gm/kg) and glibenclamide (0.50 mg/kg) daily for 30 days. There was a statistically significant decrease in the percentage of glycosylated hemoglobin together with a concomitant increase in the concentrations of serum insulin and C-peptide in plant extract and glibenclamide treated diabetic rats (pC. grandis extract treated diabetic rats was noted through an increase in the percentage of insulin secreting β-cells and an increase in islet profile diameter (p<0.05). The findings of the present investigation helps to scrutinize the therapeutic benefits of the C. grandis extract in the management of diabetes mellitus in traditional medicine