scholarly journals Hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic activity of aqueous leaf extract of Passiflora suberosa L

PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e4389 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hasani Prabodha Sudasinghe ◽  
Dinithi C. Peiris

Leaves of Passiflora suberosa L. (Family: Passifloraceae; common name: wild passion fruit, devil’s pumpkin) are used in Sri Lankan traditional medicine for treating diabetes. The present study investigated the in vivo ability of P. suberosa leaves to manage blood sugar status and associated cholesterol levels. Mechanisms of action and toxicity were also determined. Phytochemical screening of aqueous extracts of P. suberosa leaves and carbohydrate content of the leaves were determined according to previously published methods. In two group of male mice (n = 9), effects on fasting and random blood glucose levels (BGLs) of different acute doses (0, 25, 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg) of the aqueous leaf extract (ALE) were evaluated at 1, 3, and 5 h post-treatment. In another set of mice, the fasting BGL was evaluated following treatment of 0 or 50 mg/kg ALE (dose prescribed in traditional medicine) for 30 consecutive days. The lipid profile, some mechanism of ALE action (diaphragm glucose uptake, glycogen content in the liver and skeletal muscles) and its toxicity (behavioural observation, food and water intake, hepatoxicity) were also assessed following 30-day treatment. However, sucrose and glucose tolerance tests and intestinal glucose uptake were conducted to determine portion of mechanisms of action following single dose of 50 mg/kg ALE. Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of alkaloids, unsaturated sterols, triterpenes, saponins, flavonoids, tannins and proanthocyanidins. Carbohydrate content of the leaves was 12.97%. The maximum hypoglycemic effect was observed after 4 h of 50 and 100 mg/kg ALE administration. The extract decreased fasting BGL (18%) following an oral sucrose challenge and inhibited (79%) glucose absorption from the intestine. Correspondingly, the levels of glycogen in the liver (61%) and in the skeletal muscles (57%) were found be higher than that of the control group. The levels of total cholesterol (17%) and tri-glyceraldehyde levels (12%) found to be reduced in treated groups. Furthermore, no significant toxic effects were observed in treated groups. The present results suggest that the leaves of P. suberosa can be used to manage blood glucose and cholesterol levels. Isolation of active compounds are recommended for further analysis.

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (10) ◽  
pp. 1867-1873
Author(s):  
C.J. Nwandu ◽  
B.L. Nyananyo ◽  
C.O. Ozimede

The pyhtochemical constituents of butanol and acid leaf extracts of eleven (11) plant species from three different families (Annonaceae, Apocynaceae and Euphorbiaceae) obtained from various locations in eastern and southern Nigeria were made following standard techniques. Results obtained show that the leaf extracts contain alkaloids, flavonoids and saponins. This paper provides evidence that alcoholic and acid leaf extract of the selected plant species studied contains medicinally important metabolites that justifies their usage as traditional medicine for treatment of various ailments.Keywords: Tropical plants, Phytochemicals, Ethno-medicine, Extracts


Author(s):  
Ezekiel E. Ben ◽  
Asuquo E. Asuquo ◽  
D. U. Owu

Background: The endocrinal abnormalities in diabetes mellitus as one of the numerous metabolic disorders is associated with derangement in exocrine functions of the pancreas and ultimately influences blood glucose regulation. Aim: The study was aimed at assessing the role of alpha-amylase and glycogen synthase in anti-diabetic potential of Terminalia catappa in diabetic rats.  Materials and Methods: Thirty five (35) Wistar rats were assigned to 5 groups of 7 animals each. Group 1 served as the control administered distilled water at 5ml/kg bodyweight and group 2 was a non diabetic group given orally, 130/kg body weight of aqueous leaf extract of Terminalia catappa.  Groups 3, 4 and 5 received a single dose of 150mg/kg body weight of alloxan solution intraperitoneally to induce diabetes and rats with blood glucose levels ≥200mg/dl after 72 hours were considered diabetic. This was followed by oral administration of 5ml/kg bodyweight of distilled water, 130mg/kg body weight of Terminalia catappa leaf extract orally and subcutaneous administration of insulin, 0.75U/kg body weight to groups 3 (diabetic), 4(diabetic + extract) and 5 (diabetic + insulin) respectively. Results: The results showed significant (P<.05) increase in serum level of alpha-amylase and glycogen synthase in both non-diabetic extract treated and diabetic groups when compared to control. But these enzymes significantly (P<.05) reduced in diabetic extract and insulin treated groups when compared to the diabetic group.  Conclusion: Therefore the hypoglycaemic potential of Terminalia catappa leaf extract could be attributed to its ability to reduce alpha-amylase level while lowered glycogen synthase might be secondary to reduction in blood glucose.


2016 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 22
Author(s):  
Elizabeth FB ◽  
Obikili E.N ◽  
Esom A. E ◽  
Anyanwu G.E

<p><strong>Background:</strong> Different parts of plants possess variable phytochemical compounds and LD<sub>50</sub>. <em>Crinum giganteum</em> (Gadalli) is one of the plants most commonly consumed in parts of Africa for its various medicinal values. Despite this popularity, the phytochemical screening and the toxicity of the leaf extracts were yet to be evaluated. This study was designed to identify    the bioactive agents and estimate the LD<sub>50</sub> for the aqueous leaf extract of gadalli. <strong>Method</strong>: Phytochemical screening was done using standard methods. Each bioactive agent and the LD<sub>50</sub> were estimated by Arithmetic methods of Karber. <strong>Results: </strong>Phytochemical analysis revealed high presence of alkaloids,  saponins, and slight presence of glycosides while the oral LD<sub>50 </sub>was found to be 200 mg/kg. <strong>Conclusion: </strong>The major active ingredients of<strong> </strong>aqueous leaf extract of gadalli are alkaloids and saponins. It is observed to be unsafe at 200mg/kg and above.</p><p><strong>Keywords: </strong>Phytochemicals, <em>Crinum Giganteum</em>, LD<sub>50</sub>, Alkaloids, Saponins, Glycosides</p><p> </p>


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel Dare ◽  
Emiliano Merlo ◽  
Peter E. Ekanem ◽  
Jimena Berni

AbstractEpilepsy is the most common serious neurological disorder affecting 50 million people worldwide, 40 millions of which live in developing countries. Despite the introduction of a dozen of new Anti-Epileptic Drugs (AEDs), one third of the patients continue to have seizure regardless of receiving a AEDs treatment. This emphasize on the need to discover new drugs with different mechanisms of action. Traditional medicine (TM), pays a significant role in the treatment of epilepsy in many countries and offers an affordable and accessible alternative to AEDs. However, the lack of both empirical testing in animal models and clinical data places constrains to their clinical recommendation.In this study, we use Drosophila melanogaster as a model for epilepsy and tested the anti-seizure effect of leaf and stem bark aqueous extract form Annona senegalensis, a plant used as anti-convulsant by rural populations in Africa.Our results show, that at the concentrations tested, the leaf extract of A. senegalensis was more effective than the AEDs phenytoin and phenobarbital to control seizures. These promising results demonstrate that Drosophila is an excellent model for new drug discovery and that it could be used to do large scale screening of TMs for the treatment of epilepsy.


2015 ◽  
Vol 176 ◽  
pp. 225-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olanrewaju A. Salako ◽  
Abidemi J. Akindele ◽  
Omotoyosi M. Shitta ◽  
Olajumoke O. Elegunde ◽  
Olufunmilayo O. Adeyemi

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