Investigation of Anti-diabetic Properties of Ethanol Leaf Extract of Bridelia stipularis L. on Alloxan Induced Type-2 Diabetic Rats

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a chronic disease that is associated with insulin secretion, insulin action or both. Its development is directly connected with not only carbohydrate metabolism but also primarily on lipid metabolism. Oral hypoglycemic agents have been found with some serious complications which are major clinical problems. Treatment of DM with medicinal plants and plant based traditional medicine is a potential adjunct therapy to maintain better glycemic control with a fewer side effects. The present study investigated the antidiabetic effect of Bridelia stipularis L. leaves on alloxan induced type-2 diabetic rats.

Methods: Diabetes was induced by a single dose of intraperitoneal injection of alloxan (150mg/kg) in SD rats of either sex and was divided into 5 groups of 6 animals each. Ethanolic extract of leaves from Bridelia stipularis (BS 250 and 500mg/kg) and glibenclamide (10mg/kg) were orally administered once daily for 21 days in the treatment and standard group respectively. Blood glucose levels were measured on 0, 7, 14 and 21 days of oral treatment. OGTT was performed on type-2 diabetic rats and at the end of the experiment, rats were sacrificed and blood samples were collected for the measurement of total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low density lipoproteins (LDL) and high density lipoproteins (HDL), S. creatinine ALT and AST levels.

Results: Result of acute study (OGTT) showed significant effect (p<0.001) after 120 minutes at 500mg/kg dose. After 21 days treatment with BS at 500mg/kg demonstrated a significant improvement (p<0.001) in the blood glucose level. The BS extract also significantly lowered TC (p<0.001), TG (p<0.001), LDL-C (p<0.001) levels and improved HDL-C insignificantly in hyperglycemic animals. Oral administration of BS significantly reduced the serum creatinine (p<0.001), ALT (p<0.001) and AST (p<0.001) levels when compared to the vehicle treated diabetic control group. The standard drug (glibenclamide) showed significant effect (p<0.001) on all the parameters. These findings ensured marked improvement of the pancreatic islet cells indicating antidiabetic effect of BS extract.

Conclusion: Our observations strongly suggest that ethanol extract from the leaves of B. stipularis has antidiabetic properties, which is mediated by hypoglycemic, hypolipidemic, and hepatoprotective effects. Further studies are suggested to investigate the mechanisms of antidiabetic action of the plant.