Prashant Kumar Rai

Effect of Moringa oleifera Lam. leaves aqueous extract therapy on hyperglycemic rats.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE In Indian traditional system of medicine, Moringa oleifera Lam. Syn. Moringa pterygosperma Gaerth (Moringaceae) is commonly used as healing herb to treat diabetes. AIM OF THE STUDY The purpose of the present study was to assess the effect of M. oleifera leaves aqueous extract therapy on glycemic control, haemoglobin, total protein, urine sugar, urine protein and body weight. MATERIALS AND METHODS Variable doses of 100, 200 and 300 mg kg(-1) of aqueous extract were administered orally by gavage for evaluating their hypoglycemic and antidiabetic effects on fasting blood glucose (FBG), oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and post prandial glucose (PPG) of normal and streptozotocin (STZ) induced sub, mild and severely diabetic rats. RESULTS The dose of 200 mg kg(-1) decreases blood glucose level (BGL) of normal animals by 26.7 and 29.9% during FBG and OGTT studies respectively. In sub and mild diabetic animals the same dose produced a maximum fall of 31.1 and 32.8% respectively, during OGTT. In case of severely diabetic animals FBG and PPG levels were reduced by 69.2 and 51.2% whereas, total protein, body weight and haemoglobin were increased by 11.3, 10.5 and 10.9% respectively after 21 days of treatment. Significant reduction was found in urine sugar and urine protein levels from +4 and +2 to nil and trace, respectively. CONCLUSION The study validates scientifically the widely claimed use of M. oleifera as an ethnomedicine to treat diabetes mellitus.

Evidence-based Critical Evaluation of Glycemic Potential of Cynodon dactylon

The present study is an extension of our previous work carried out on Cynodon dactylon. This study deals with the critical evaluation of glycemic potential of ethanolic extract of defatted C. dactylon. The doses of 250, 500 and 750 mg kg−1 bw of the extract were administered orally to normal as well as Streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats to study its glycemic potential. The effect of repeated oral administration of the same doses of ethanolic extract was also studied on serum lipid profile of severely diabetic (SD) rats. The dose of 500 mg kg−1 bw was identified as the most effective dose as it lowered the blood glucose levels of normal by 42.12% and of diabetic by 43.42% during fasting blood glucose (FBG) and glucose tolerance test respectively. The SD rats were also treated daily with this identified dose of 500 mg kg−1 bw for 2 weeks and a significant reduction of 56.34% was observed in FBG level. Total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein and triglyceride levels were also decreased by 32.94, 64.06 and 48.46% respectively in SD rats whereas, cardioprotective high density lipoprotein increased by 16.45%. The reduced urine sugar level and increased body weight are additional advantages. These evidences clearly indicate that the ethanolic extract of defatted C. dactylon has high antidiabetic potential along with good hypolipidemic profile.

Carbofuran-induced toxicity in rats: Protective role of vitamin C

Erythrocytes are prone to oxidative stress due to the presence of hemoglobin and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Oxidative stress (OS) is associated with increased osmotic fragility (OF) of erythrocytes. Organophosphate and organocarbamate pesticides are known to cause OS in erythrocytes. We have investigated the effect of a single sub-acute dose of carbofuran (CF), an organocarbamate pesticide and ameliorating role of vitamin C on OF and OS in erythrocytes of Wistar rats. OF and OS were assessed by determining membrane stability in terms of erythrocyte OF and the activities of free radicals scavenging enzymes such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione-S-transferase (GST). We observed a significant alteration in the mean erythrocyte fragility (MEF) at relatively higher NaCl concentration (0.67%) as compared to MEF at 0.55%, 0.58% and 0.56% of NaCl in control, vitamin C- and vitamin C + CF-treated groups, respectively. The activities of CAT and SOD were observed to be elevated by 74.35% and 85.56%, respectively, with significance level of p < or = 0.001, whereas GST activity got significantly (p < or = 0.001) diminished by 46.30% in the erythrocytes of CF-treated rats. Vitamin C treatment exhibited marked (p < or = 0.05) prevention of carbofuran-induced oxidative stress as well as erythrocyte osmotic fragility in the Wistar rats. These results suggest that CF treatment induces OF and OS in the erythrocytes of rats, and pretreatment with vitamin C can mitigate these toxic effects.

Antidiabetic effect of Ficus bengalensis aerial roots in experimental animals.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE Herbal preparations of Ficus bengalensis had been considered as effective, economical and safe ethnomedicines for various ailments in Indian traditional system of medicine. AIM OF STUDY The present study was aimed to explore scientifically the antidiabetic potential of Ficus bengalensis aerial roots as its bark had already been reported to possess antidiabetic efficacy. MATERIALS AND METHODS Effect of variable doses of aqueous extract of Ficus bengalensis aerial roots on blood glucose level (BGL) of normal-, sub- and mild-diabetic models have been studied and the results were compared with the reference drug Glipizide and elemental Mg and Ca intake as glycemic elements. RESULTS The dose of 300 mg kg(-1) showed the maximum fall of 43.8 and 40.7% in BGL during FBG and glucose tolerance test (GTT) studies of normal rats, respectively. The same dose showed a marked reduction in BGL of 54.3% in sub- and 51.7% in mild-diabetic rats during GTT. The concentration of Mg (1.02%) and Ca (0.85%) identified through laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) in the most effective dose could be responsible for this high percentage fall in BGL as they take part in glucose metabolism. CONCLUSION The hypoglycemic effect in normoglycemic and antidiabetic effect in sub- and mild-diabetic models of aqueous extract of aerial roots of Ficus bengalensis are due to the presence of these glycemic elements in high concentration with respect to other elements.

Glycemic Properties of Trichosanthes dioica Leaves

In continuation of our previous work on Trichosanthes dioica Roxb. (Cucurbitaceae), the aim of this study was to screen the glycemic attributes of an aqueous extract of Trichosanthes dioica leaves in normal as well as various diabetic models. The variable doses of 250, 500, and 750 mg kg− 1 body weight (bw) of the extract were administered orally to normal and streptozotocin (STZ)-induced sub- and mild-diabetic rats in order to define its glycemic potential. The dose of 500 mg kg− 1 bw was identified as the most effective dose which brings down the blood glucose level (BGL) by 32.9% (P < 0.001) at 6 h during fasting blood glucose (FBG) studies in normal rats. However, glucose tolerance test (GTT) showed the maximum reduction of 30.9% (P < 0.001) in BGL at 5 h in normal rats with the same dose, whereas the reduction observed was by 40.3% and 88.6% (P < 0.001) in sub- and mild-diabetic rats, respectively, at 3 h of glucose administration only. This evidence clearly indicates that the aqueous extract of Trichosanthes dioica leaves has good hypoglycemic potential along with a high anti-diabetic profile.

Role of LIBS in Elemental Analysis of Psidium guajava Responsible for Glycemic Potential

Abstract The present study deals with the detection of elements responsible for glycemic potential of ripe and unripe fruit peel aqueous extracts of Psidium guajava (P. guajava). Treatment with the aqueous extract of unripe fruit peel showed a significant fall of 17.5% (p<0.001) in blood glucose levels (BGLs) of normal rats during fasting blood glucose (FBG) test with a dose of 400 mg/kg bw. In sub‐diabetic rats, a fall of 19.8% (p<0.001) was observed with the same dose during a glucose tolerance test (GTT). The significant fall observed in FBG, post prandial glucose (PPG) and urine sugar levels of severely diabetic rats was 20.7%, 17.5% (p<0.05), and 66.6% (p<0.01), respectively. On the contrary, the effect of ripe fruit peel aqueous extract showed a regular rise of 24.4% (p<0.01) in BGL of normal rats and of 90.0% (p<0.001) in sub‐diabetic rats. Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) has been used for the identification of elements responsible for the glycemic potential of fruit peel aqueous extracts of P. guajava. Concentration of Mg was found higher in unripe fruit peel aqueous extract than in the ripe fruit peel aqueous extract whereas the concentration of K was found lower in the extract of unripe fruit peel than in the extract of ripe fruit peel. Thus, the LIBS results help in defining the role of Mg and K in diabetes management. However, the concentrations of other minerals, like Na, N, O, and C, are nearly the same in both of the extracts.

Antihyperglycemic Profile of Trichosanthes dioica. Seeds in Experimental Models

Abstract Natural remedies from medicinal plants are considered to be effective and safe alternative treatments for diabetes mellitus. The current study deals with the effect of a single oral dose of the aqueous extract of Trichosanthes dioica. Roxb. (Cucurbitaceae) seeds in different diabetic animal models. Evaluation of the antihyperglycemic effect in normal, subdiabetic, and mild diabetic animal models is based on fasting blood glucose (FBG) and glucose tolerance test (GTT) studies. The graded doses of the extract, viz., 500, 750, 1000, and 1250 mg/kg body weight (b.w.), were administered orally. It was found that the blood glucose concentration decreased in a dose-dependent manner. The dose of 1000 mg/kg b.w. was found to be most effective with a maximum fall of 30.4% at 6 h during FBG studies in normal rats. However, the GTT studies showed the maximum reduction of 26.6% at 5 h in normal rats. Moreover, in case of subdiabetic and mild diabetic rats, the observed reduction in blood glucose levels was 32.8% and 35.9%, respectively, at 3 h during GTT. The data clearly reveal the significant antihyperglycemic profile of Trichosanthes dioica. seeds.

ANTIDIABETIC EFFECT OF WITHANIA COAGULANS IN EXPERIMENTAL RATS

The present study defines the systematic evaluation and the role of minerals in glycemic potential of aqueous extract of Withania coagulans fruits in order to develop an effective and safe alternative treatment for diabetes mellitus. Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy was used for glycemic element detection. The study is based on the results of lowering in blood glucose levels of normal, sub, mild and severely diabetic rats assessed during fasting blood glucose, glucose tolerance test and post prandial glucose studies. The dose of 1000mg/ kg was identified as the most effective dose, which reduces the Fasting Blood Glucose level maximum by 33.2% at 4h in normal rats during fasting blood glucose studies. Glucose tolerance test studies of normal, sub and mild diabetic rats showed the maximum reduction of 15.7, 28.9 and 37.8% at 3h respectively. Long-term study in case of severely diabetic rats showed reduction of 52.9 and 54.1% in Fasting Blood Glucose and Post Prandial Glucose levels respectively after 30 days of treatment. The present study, besides confirming hypoglycemic and antidiabetic activities of aqueous extract of W. coagulans, helps in identifying the role of trace minerals like Mg & Ca responsible for antidiabetic potential of this potent indigenous shrub.

Role of Moringa oleifera in regulation of diabetes-induced oxidative stress

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the antioxidant activity of aqueous extract of Moringa oleifera (M. oleifera) young leaves by in vivo as well as in vitro assays. METHODS In vitro study included estimation of total phenolic, total flavonol, total flavonoid and total antioxidant power (FRAP assay). In addition, in vivo study was done with the identified most effective dose of 200 mg/kg of its lyophilized powder on normal and diabetic rats. Its effect on different oxidative free radical scavenging enzymes,viz, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione-S-transferase (GST), lipid peroxide (LPO) contents were measured. RESULTS Significant increase in activities of SOD, CAT, GST while, a decrease in LPO content was observed. Whereas, total phenolic, flavonoid and flavonol contents in the extract were found to be 120 mg/g of GAE, 40.5 mg/g of QE and 12.12 mg/g of QE, respectively. On the other hand, FRAP assay results of M. oleifera leaves was (85.00 ± 5.00) μM/g of extract powder. CONCLUSIONS The significant antioxidant activities of M. oleifera leaves from both in vivo as well as in vitro studies suggests that the regular intake of its leaves through diet can protect normal as well as diabetic patients against oxidative damage.

Role of aqueous extract of Cynodon dactylon in prevention of carbofuran- induced oxidative stress and acetylcholinesterase inhibition in rat brain

The present study was designed to investigate the ameliorating effect of aqueous extract of C. dactylon on carbofuran induced oxidative stress (OS) and alterations in the activity of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in the brain of rats. Vitamin C was used as a positive control. Wistar rats were administered with single sub-acute oral dose (1.6 mgkg-1 b.wt.) of carbofuran for 24 h. The OS parameters such as lipid peroxidation (LPO) and the activities of antioxidant enzymes including super oxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione-S-transferase (GST), and that of AChE were studied in brain. Carbofuran treatment significantly increased the activities of SOD and CAT by 75 and 60%, respectively. It also induced the level of LPO by 113%. In contrast, the activities of GST and AChE were recorded to be diminished by 25 and 33%, respectively. Pretreatment of the rats with aqueous extract of C. dactylon (oral; 500mgkg-1) restored SOD activity completely but CAT activity only partially (7%). Carbofuran induced LPO was moderated by 95% in the brain of C. dactylon treated rats. The observed changes in OS parameters in C. dactylon treated group were comparable to that observed in vitamin C (200 mg-kg-1 b. wt.) treated group. Surprisingly, C. dactylon treatment significantly recovered the activity of AChE to a similar level as observed in the brain of control group. In contrast vitamin C treatment did not cause significant change in the activity of AChE in carbofuran treated group. There were no noticeable changes in the aforementioned study parameters in the brain of rats receiving C. dactylon and vitamin C, only. The results suggest that the study is extremely important in the context of development of new anticholinestesterase and antioxidant antidotes against carbofuran from C. dactylon.