Antidiabetic Potentials of Aqueous Leaf Extracts of Momordica balsamina Linn and Leptadenia hastata (Pers) Decne Alone and in Combination in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats doi.org/10.26538/tjnpr/v3i1.3

Abstract

Metabolic derangements associated with Diabetes Mellitus (DM) require multiple therapeutic approaches to improve glycaemia outcomes and thus prevent onset of long-term complications. Composite antidiabetic plants mixture appears to be more therapeutically effective than the individual components through their synergistic or additive effect. The present study evaluated
the antidiabetic potentials of the aqueous leaf extracts of Momordica balsamina (MB) and Leptadenia hastata (LH) alone and in combination in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. Acute oral toxicity study was conducted at 2000 mg/kg body weight as per the OECD guidelines to determine the safe dose range of each plant extract alone and in combination. Graded doses of
LH, MB and their combination (100-400 mg/kg) were screened acutely for antidiabetic activity at specific time intervals in rats made diabetic with a single intraperitoneal injection of STZ (60 mg/kg) to determine their effective doses (ED). Antidiabetic activities of the ED were sub-acutely (28 days) evaluated by measuring biochemical parameters in blood, serum and liver homogenate of STZ-induced rats. The ED at 400 mg/kg (LH), 200 mg/kg (MB) and 400+200 mg/kg (LH+MB)mg/kg proved to significantly decrease levels of blood glucose, glycated heamoglobin (HbA1c), glucose-6-phosphatase (G6P) and increase levels of serum insulin, total heamoglobin (Hb) and hexokinase (HK) in STZ-induced diabetic rats when compared to normal rats. These results demonstrated the antidiabetic activity of the aqueous leaf extracts of L. hastata and M. balsamina and their combination, thus validating their ethno-medicinal usage in the management of DM and its complications.