Abstract:
Background: Diabetic Mellitus is one of the most common chronic diseases and its burden
continues to increase in the world. Current treatment strategies for diabetic mellitus have
been circumscribed due to limitations like high costs, accessibility issues, and probable side
effects. Medicinal plants may offer safe, affordable, and accessible alternatives. Therefore, it
is vital to assess medicinal plants for their pharmacological effects to support the use of
current diabetes medications.
Method: The Ethulia gracilis leaves were macerated with 80% methanol. Then, 80%
methanol extract was further fractionated using n-hexane, chloroform, and distilled water.
The blood glucose-lowering activity of 80% methanol extract and its solvent fractions were
evaluated at 250, 500, and 1000mg/kg dose ranges in normoglycemic, glucose-loaded, and
streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice models. Animals were assigned to different study
groups by a completely random distribution. The in vitro α–amylase inhibitory activity of the
crude extract and its solvent fractions were evaluated by using 3,5-dinitrosalicylic acid
(DNSA) assay model. The results were analyzed using one-way ANOVA, followed by
Tukey's post-hoc multiple comparison test.
Result: Acute and subacute toxicity study of 80% methanol extract of the leaves of Ethulia
gracilis did not show any sign of toxicity and mortality in the mice during the observation
period. The 80% methanol extract showed a significant blood glucose-lowering effect on
normoglycemic and oral glucose-loaded mice at the dose of 1000mg/kg (47.98%, p<0.001
and 28.98%, p<0.001), respectively, as compared to negative control. After 14 days of
treatment, in a streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice model, at 1000mg/kg dose the 80%
methanol extract and chloroform fraction significantly(p<0.05) reduced the fasting blood
glucose levels with a percentage reduction of 49.65% and 48.89%, respectively. In α–
amylase enzyme inhibition activity, among the plant extracts, the highest activity was shown
by 80% methanol extract (54.23% at 800 μg/mL) as compared to the standard acarbose which
resulted in 85% inhibition at 800 μg/mL.
Conclusion: Acute and subacute toxicity study of 80% methanol extract did not produce any
sign of toxicity and mortality during the study periods. The present study also revealed that
the higher doses of 80% methanol extract and chloroform fraction effectively lowered blood
glucose levels in diabetic and normoglycemic mice, and inhibiting α–amylase enzyme
activity. This provides scientific support for the local use of plant leaves in the treatment of
diabete
