Insulin Plant
ABSTRACT
The present study was carried out to evaluate the
antidiabetic activity of Costus pictus (C.pictus) D. Don, on alloxan induced
diabetic rats. Oral administration of fresh leaf extract (200 and 400 mg/kg
body weight) for 60 days treatment resulted in significant decrease in blood
glucose level and lipid profiles. There were also significant changes
observed in carbohydrate metabolizing enzymes and antioxidants. The nitrogenous
wastes such as urea, uric acid and creatinine were also found decreased after
the treatment. The study clearly shows that the effect of the drug (400 mg/kg
body weight) was equally effective with the standard drug glibenclamide. To
find out the biomarkers, pharmacognostic and phytochemical studies were carried
out . The leaf of C. pictus is characterized by simple unicellular, pointed
non-glandular trichomes, absence of palisade layer and hypodermal layers
containing shattered crystals. Micromorphological characters of the leaf are
also given. The leaves are found to contain flavonoids such as
kaempferol, 3’, 4’-di O-Me-quercetin and 4’-OMe-Kaempferol and phenolic
acids such as gentisic, 2, 5-dihydroxy benzoic acid, o-coumaric, melilotic,
α-resorcyclic, 3,5-dihydroxy benzoic acid, p- hydroxy benzoic acid, cis and
trans-p-coumaric acid.
INTRODUCTION
Diabetes mellitus is a disorder very well known and
widespread all over the world. Different types of oral hypoglycemic agents such
as insulin, suphonylurea etc. are used for the treatment of this disease, but
they cause side effects on continued use. There is a growing interest in
phytomedicine because of their effectiveness, fewer side effects and low costs.
Many Indian medicinal plants are reported to
be useful in diabetes. C.
pictus D.Don. (Costaceae) an ornamental plant of Mexico, is one
such plant newly introduced to India. It is an erect herb growing up to 3
meters tall, having stem horizontally striped at base; leaves narrowly
lanceolate, dark green above, lighter green below; small leaves are present on
the basal part; bracts green, with outer margin coloured maroon. Flowers
yellow; lip with maroon striations, darker yellow stripe down the middle
region; anther cream coloured. This plant is distributed along the coast from
Mexico to Costa Rica and is locally known as cana agria or cana de jabali in
Mexico. In Mexico, it is used to treat diseases of the kidney. It is reported
to have effects on renal functions and its anti-inflammatory and
hypoglycemic actions. The practitioners in Mexico
used an infusion of this plant in the treatment of renal disorders; the plant
also possesses diuretic activity. The plant was reported to contain flavonoids,
saponins, reduced sugars and tannins.
The present study was undertaken to test the plant for
its antidiabetic activities, toxicity of the extract on normal rats and the
effect of the extract on the antioxidant enzymes, non- enzymatic
antioxidant, carbohydrate metabolizing enzymes and
lipid profile. Pharmacognostic
and phytochemical analysis of the leaves were also conducted.
Insulin plant is a relatively new entrant to Kerala and
India. Insulin plant has not got a Malayalam name yet, except the occasional
use of insulin chedy or insulin chedi, where chedy means a plant. The
catchphrase of this plant is ‘a leaf a day keeps diabetes away’.
The plant is characterized by large fleshy looking
leaves. It grows very quickly. Propagation is by stem cutting. It grows in
slightly shady areas.
Diabetes patients are advised to chew down a leaf in the
morning and one in the evening for a month. Allopathic doctors too recommend it
and it is found to be effective in bringing blood sugar levels under completely
under control. There is also dried and ground powder of the leaves now
available in the market.
* With FBS below 200, take ONE leaf daily before
breakfast and drink a glass of water
* With FBS above 200, take TWO leaves in the
morning and TWO at night on a daily basis.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Preparation of aqueous extract
The leaves of C. pictus (Costaceae) were collected from
Vadodara City, Gujarat. A Voucher specimen was deposited in the herbarium of
the Botany department of M. S. University. For preparing the extract, 500 g of
Fresh leaves were boiled in water for 30 min. The extract was then filtered and
the process of boiling was repeated three times with the residue, each time
collecting the extract. The collected extract was pooled and
passed through a fine muslin cloth. The
filtrate upon evaporation at 40°C yielded 14.5% semi solid extract.
Lipids in the diabetic subjects is mainly due to an
increase in the mobalization of free fatty acids from the peripheral fat
deposit [34]. The hypolipidemic effect of C. pictus could be explained as a
direct result of the reduction in blood glucose concentration.
CONCLUSION
The present findings suggest that the plant extract is
non- toxic, since no marked changes were observed in the normal rats fed with the
extract. Thus, at normal therapeutic doses, the extract was considered to
be safe for long-term treatment in diabetic condition. The leaf extract showed
potent antidiabetic activity and the dose 400mg/kg body weight was more
effective than 200 mg/kg body weight. 400 mg dose was all most equally
effective with the standard drug glibenclamide. Apart
from this the plant
extract also improved the activity of enzymatic and non-enzymatic
antioxidants, thereby scavenging the free radical that initiates the lipid
peroxidation. The decreased level of urea, uric acid and creatinine in the
treated rats clearly shows that the plant extract, protects the diabetic rats
from alloxan induced renal damage. The plant extract
also lowered the plasma lipid levels,
the antihyperlipidemic effect
of the extract in particular can be
considered as a possible therapeutic value. The result observed in all these
parameters were statistically significant (p<0.05). Thus all these
activities exhibited by the extract can be attributed to the presence of the
active constituent of the plant. Longer duration studies of C. pictus extract
and its isolated compounds are necessary to develop a potent antidiabetic drug.
For buying please contact natureherbs@ymail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment