Effect of Crude Leaves Extract of Bersama Abyssinica on Blood Glucose Level and Serum Lipid Level of Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Mice: Evidence for In vivo Antidiabetic Activity

Background: Diabetes mellitus is one of the major and common metabolic, and chronic disorders in the world. Several medicinal plants have been used globally for the management of diabetes mellitus. The current study aimed to study the anti-hyperglycemic and anti-hyperlipidemic effects of Bersama abyssinica. Methods: Antidiabetic effect of 80% methanolic crude extract of Bersama abyssinica was studied in repeated dose-treated STZ-induced diabetic mice model. The activities of Bersama abyssinica on serum lipid level and body weight were investigated on STZ-induced diabetic mice. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA and significant when the p-value was less than 0.05. Results: All doses of the crude 80% methanolic extract of Bersama abyssinica (100 mg/kg, 200 mg/kg, and 400 mg/kg) exhibited a noticeable BGL reduction when compared with baseline blood glucose level and diabetic control on the 7th and 14th days of administration. Moreover, the higher dose of the extract (at 400 mg/kg) significantly (p < 0.001, 54.3%) decreased the BGL in STZ-induced diabetic mice. The maximum decrement in fasting BGL was achieved at the 14th days: 34.92%, 41.10%, 54.30%, and 59.66%, respectively for BAC 100 mg/kg, BAC 200 mg/kg, BAC 400 mg/kg, and GLC 5 mg/kg treated groups. Bersama abyssinica also displayed a significant (p < 0.05) improvement of serum lipid levels and body weight. Conclusion: Bersama abyssinica crude extract exhibited a significant antidiabetic effect and prevented body weight loss in streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice. The finding also confirmed the valuable biochemical activity of Bersama abyssinica by improving serum lipid levels.

Wound Healing Activities of Hydromethanolic Crude Extract and Solvent Fractions of Bersama abyssinica Leaves in Mice

Background. Bersama abyssinica leaves are traditionally used for management of wounds in several communities of Ethiopia, despite no scientifically approved studies done on wound healing. Our study planned to work out the wound healing effects of B. abyssinica leaves extract in mice. Methods. B. abyssinica leaves were extracted with 80% hydromethanol and fractioned with chloroform, hexane, and water. The acute dermal toxicity of the crude extract was evaluated in mice. The crude extract formulated at 5% and 10% w/w ointment was investigated in excision, incision, and burn wound models and solvent fractions in the excision model using simple ointment (negative control) and nitrofurazone 0.2% w/v (positive control). We evaluated histopathological analysis, wound contraction rate, complete epithelialization period, and skin durability. One-way ANOVA followed by the post hoc Tukey HSD test with IBM SPSS software version 23.0 was used for data analysis, and p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results. Hydromethanolic crude extract produced 5% (99.5%) and 10% (100%) wound contraction on the 16th day of the treatment and 5% (18.8) and 10% (28.2) percent reduction in the epithelization period on the excision wound healing model. Hydromethanolic crude extract produced 5% (47.5) and 10% (61.17) percent durability on the incision wound healing model. Hydromethanolic crude extract produced 5% (99.82%) and 10% (100%) wound contraction on the 20th day of treatment and 5% (13%) and 10% (21.7%) reduction in the epithelization period on the burn wound healing model. The chloroform fraction produced 5% (90.17%) and 10% (91.01%), hexane fraction produced 5% (85.81%) and 10% (86.78%), and aqueous fraction produced 5% (99.17%) and 10% (99.38%) wound contraction on the 14th day of the treatment and 5% (18.8) and 10% (28.2) percent reduction in the epithelization period on the excision wound healing model. Both hydromethanolic crude extract and solvent fractions at 5% and 10% (w/w) were significant ( p < 0.001) compared with negative control. Conclusion. The results of this study showed that both 5% w/w and 10% w/w of 80% hydromethanolic crude extract and solvent fractions of B. abyssinica leaves have wound healing effects.

Antimalarial Activity of Crude Extract and Solvent Fractions of the Leaves of Bersama abyssinica Fresen. (Melianthaceae) against Plasmodium berghei Infection in Swiss Albino Mice

Background. Treatment of malaria has been compromised by the emergence of drug-resistant parasites. Consequently, novel agents are urgently needed from different sources including from medicinal plants. Thus, the current study aimed at evaluating the antimalarial activity of crude extract and solvent fractions of the leaves of Bersama abyssinica (B. abyssinica) against Plasmodium berghei infection in Swiss Albino mice. Method. A 4-day suppressive test was employed to evaluate the antimalarial effect of crude extract and solvent fractions against early infection. The curative and prophylactic effects of crude extract and fraction with the highest chemosuppression were further tested by Rane’s test and residual infection procedure. Parasitemia, survival time, packed cell volume (PCV), body weight, and rectal temperature of mice were used as evaluation parameters. Windows SPSS version 20 was used to analyze the data and analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by Tukey’s post hoc test was used to compare data between groups. Results. The crude extract and aqueous fraction significantly (P<0.05 to 0.001) suppressed parasitemia followed by protection of PCV reduction resulting in prolonging the survival time but failed to protect body weight and rectal temperature reduction in all tested models. The ethyl acetate and chloroform fractions also showed significant chemosuppression and PCV protection in the 4-day suppressive test. The crude extract exhibited a chemosuppression of 49.51%, 57.94%, and 44.11% while the aqueous fraction showed suppression of 47.69%, 51.62%, and 37.07% in 4-day suppressive, curative, and prophylactic tests, respectively, at 400 mg/kg. Conclusion. The crude extract and fractions showed fairly moderate antimalarial activity, and the finding supports the traditional claims and previous in vitro studies. Thus, this may call for further studies to isolate chemical entities for additional safety and efficacy tests.

Effect of environmental gradients on diversity and plant community distribution in remnant dry Afromontane forest of Mount Duro, Nagelle Arsi, Ethiopia

For forest ecosystem management to be effective, explicit understanding of the species diversity-environmental relationship along elevation gradient is crucial. This study aimed at identifying and describing plant communities and also documenting their species diversity. Evaluation of relationships between selected environmental variables and species diversity was another objective of this study. Systematic sampling techniques were used to collect vegetation data in a total of forty two sample plots (size=20×20 m). Within main plots, four sub-plots of 5×5 m were established at four corners and – one sub-plot of the same size in the center. These plots were used for shrub and herb diversity assessment. Within each sample plot, all plant species were documented and their scientific names were identified. Environmental variables, such as: elevation, aspect and slope, were also recorded for each main plot. Species diversity was determined using Shannon-Wiener diversity index and evenness in R statistical software. Agglomerative hierarchical clustering method was used for plant community classification. The total of 44 plant species belonging to 30 families was documented. Four plant community types were identified with different diversity, evenness and species richness. These plant communities were: Afrocurpus falcatus-Ficus sur, Maesa lanceolata-Bersama abyssinica, Vernonia myriantha-Urera hypselodendron and Croton machrostachus-Tecleanobilis occurring at average elevation of 2521, 2429, 2329, and 2364 m asl, respectively. Maesa lanceolata-Bersama abyssinica community type exhibited the highest species diversity and evenness followed by Croton machrostachus-Teclea nobilis community type showing the fact that median elevation ranges were rich in species. Elevation and slope gradient explained significant variation in species richness in the studied forest. For effective conservation of biodiversity and sustainable management of the forest ecosystem, further research on the impacts of anthropogenic disturbances and soil properties is recommended as a result of this study.

Biopotential of Bersama abyssinica Fresen Stem Bark Extracts: UHPLC Profiles, Antioxidant, Enzyme Inhibitory, and Antiproliferative Propensities

In this study, ethyl acetate, methanol, and water extracts of Bersama abyssinica (Melianthaceae) stem bark were screened for enzyme inhibitory and antioxidant properties. The water extract possessed the highest concentration of phenols (230.83 mg gallic acid equivalent/g extract), while the methanol extract was rich in flavonoids (75.82 mg rutin equivalent/g extract), and the ethyl acetate extract possessed the highest amount of saponins (97.37 mg quillaja equivalent/g). The aim of this study was to investigate the antiproliferative effects against the human colon cancer HCT116 cell line challenged with serotonin (5-HT) as a stimulating-proliferation factor. The level of HCT116 cell-deriving pool of kynurenic acid (KA) was also assessed. The UHPLC results confirmed the presence of 58, 68, and 63 compounds in the ethyl acetate, methanol, and water extracts, respectively. Mangiferin, vitexin and its isomer isovitexin were tentatively identified in all extracts and KA (m/z 190.05042 [M−H]+) was also tentatively identified in the methanol and water extracts. The methanol extract (1464.08 mg Trolox equivalent [TE]/g extract) showed the highest activity in the CUPRAC assay, whereas the water extract (1063.70 mg TE/g extract) showed the highest activity with the FRAP technique. The ethyl acetate extract was the most active acetylcholinesterase (4.43 mg galantamine equivalent/g extract) and α-glucosidase (mmol acarbose equivalent /g extract) inhibitor. The water extract was able to inhibit 5-HT-stimulated viability of HCT116 cells, and blunt 5-HT-induced reduction of cell-deriving KA. The scientific data generated in this study provide baseline data regarding the biological properties of B. abyssinica stem bark, highlighting its potential use for the development of new pharmaceutic and cosmetic agents.

Evaluation of In Vivo Antidiabetic, In Vitro α-Amylase Inhibitory, and In Vitro Antioxidant Activity of Leaves Crude Extract and Solvent Fractions of Bersama abyssinica Fresen (Melianthaceae)

Background. The leaves of Bersama abyssinica are used for the treatment of diabetes mellitus in folk medicine system of Ethiopia. The present study was done based on the traditional claim of B abyssinica for the treatment of diabetes mellitus. Methods. The α-amylase inhibition and antioxidant activities of B abyssinica extracts were evaluated by using 3,5-dinitrosalicylic acid method and diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl assay model, respectively. Blood glucose lowering activity of the extracts was studied in 4 animal models; normoglycemic, oral glucose loaded, and streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice models. Results. Among the extracts, the crude extract showed the highest α-amylase enzyme inhibition activity with an IC50 of 6.57 μg/mL. The water fraction showed the strongest antioxidant activity with an IC50 of 3.43 μg/mL. The crude extract at doses of 200, and 400 mg/kg showed significant ( P < .05) hypoglycemic activity in normoglycemic mice. All doses of the crude extract significantly ( P < .05) reduced blood glucose levels of oral glucose-loaded mice. In streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice models, both the crude and solvent fractions showed a significant ( P < .05) blood glucose lowering effect as compared with the negative control group post 8 hour treatment. Conclusion. The results demonstrated the beneficial biochemical effects of B abyssinica extract by inhibiting α-amylase and scavenging the free radicals. The crude extract and solvent fractions of B abyssinica had significant blood glucose lowering effect in all animal models.