Chang Won Choi

Hypoglycaemic and Hypolipidaemic Effects of Withania somnifera Root and Leaf Extracts on Alloxan-Induced Diabetic Rats

Withania somnifera is an important medicinal plant, which is used in traditional medicine to cure many diseases. Flavonoids were determined in the extracts of W. somnifera root (WSREt) and leaf (WSLEt). The amounts of total flavonoids found in WSREt and WSLEt were 530 and 520 mg/100 g dry weight (DW), respectively. Hypoglycaemic and hypolipidaemic effects of WSREt and WSLEt were also investigated in alloxan-induced diabetic rats. WSREt and WSLEt and the standard drug glibenclamide were orally administered daily to diabetic rats for eight weeks. After the treatment period, urine sugar, blood glucose, haemoglobin (Hb), glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1C), liver glycogen, serum and tissues lipids, serum and tissues proteins, liver glucose-6-phosphatase (G6P) and serum enzymes like aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), acid phosphatase (ACP) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) levels were determined. The levels of urine sugar, blood glucose, HbA1C, G6P, AST, ALT, ACP, ALP, serum lipids except high density lipoprotein-bound cholesterol (HDL-c) and tissues like liver, kidney and heart lipids were significantly (p < 0.05) increased, however Hb, total protein, albumin, albumin:globulin (A:G) ratio, tissues protein and glycogen were significantly (p < 0.05) decreased in alloxan-induced diabetic rats. Treatment of the diabetic rats with WSREt, WSLEt and glibenclamide restored the changes of the above parameters to their normal level after eight weeks of treatment, indicating that WSREt and WSLEt possess hypoglycaemic and hypolipidaemic activities in alloxan-induced diabetes mellitus (DM) rats.

Determination of Mineral Content in Methanolic Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) Seed Extract and Its Effect on Osteoblast Markers

Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) seeds are used as a folk medicine to enhance bone formation or to prevent osteoporosis in Korea. Therefore, the methanolic extract of safflower seeds (MESS) containing high mineral content, such as calcium (Ca), potassium (K) and phosphorous (P), was evaluated for the role on osteoblast (Ob) markers of Sprague-Dawley rats. In serum of 3 to 11 weeks (wks) old rats, both osteocalcin (OC) content and bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (B-ALP) activity increased to their maximum levels in 4–7 wks. Hence, 3 wks old rats were selected for 8 wks oral treatment of MESS, resulted in the significant increase of Ob markers in serum such as OC content (4–8 wks), B-ALP activity (1–2 wks) and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) level (1 wk), and the growth parameter such as the length of femur (2–8 wks) and tibia (4 wks). On the basis of Pearson’s correlation coefficient, there were a moderate correlation between OC and B-ALP at 8 wks, a low correlation between OC and IGF-I at 1, 4 and 8 wks, a moderate correlation between OC and femur length at 1, 2 and 8 wks, and a moderate correlations between OC and tibia length at 1 and 8 wks of MESS-treated groups. The result reveals that the changes of OC correlated at low to moderate level with the changes of B-ALP activity, IGF-I content and femur and tibia length in the MESS-treatment period. On the other hand, there were a strong correlation between IGF-I and femur length at 2 wks and moderate correlation between IGF-I and tibia length at 1, 2 and 8 wks of MESS-treated groups. Therefore, the effect of MESS on bone formation likely appears to be mediated by IGF-I at the early stage of treatment.

Direct plant regeneration from cucumber embryonal axis

Embryonal axis explants from 2-d-old in vitro germinated seeds were used to induce multiple shoot production. The combination of 4.44 µM BA and 1.59 µM NAA in MS medium triggered the initiation of adventitious shoot buds. The explants with shoot buds produced maximum number of shoots (10.6 per explant) in MS medium supplemented with 4.44 µM BA and 0.065 mM L-glutamine in three successive transfers. The elongated shoots were rooted on MS medium with 4.92 µM IBA. Rooted plants were transferred to soil with a survival rate of 65 %.

Indirect Regeneration of Withania somnifera from Nodal Explants

Withania somniferais an important medicinal plant and used to cure many diseases. Indirect regeneration protocol for multiple shoots development was established using nodal explants ofW. somniferafrom 50-60 days old seedlings. The callus induction was observed from nodal explants, grown on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with various concentrations and combinations of 2,4 -dichlorophenoxy acetic acid (2,4 -D) and kinetin (Kn). Maximum level of cal lusing response (80.0%) was recorded on MS medium supplemented with a combinationsof 2.0 mg/l 2,4-D and 0.2 mg/l Kn. The callus (greenish compact) was transferred into MS medium containing various concentrations (0.5 �2.0mg/l) of 6-benzyl amino purine (BAP) alone and in combination (0.1 �0.4mg/l) with indole -3-acetic acid (IAA) for shoot initiation and OriginalResearch Article