Oral hypoglycaemic activity of the traditional native drug variprasadinadi and the antioxidant activity of the drug and its constituents
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Date
2007
Authors
Perera, P. U. M.
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Publisher
University of Peradeniya
Abstract
Variprasadinadi is a herbal drug used in native medicine in Sri Lanka to treat diabetes mellitus by traditional physicians. Variprasadinadi consists of eight plants, Strychnos potatorum L.f., Santalum album L., Cyperus rotundus L., Tinospora cordifolia (Wild.) Hook. f. & Thoms., Hemidesmus indicus L., Elettaria cardamomum (L.) Maton var. major Thw., Vetiveria zizanioides (L.) Nash. and endemic species, Coleus zeylanicus (Benth.) Cramer. The aim of this study was to scientifically investigate the effect of drug variprasadinadi on serum glucose level using normoglycaemic Wistar male rats and further to investigate free radical scavenging activity of the drug and its constituents of variprasadinadi using the DPPH method. The aqueous decoction of variprasadinadi was freeze-dried and the resulting powder was used in the animal studies and antioxidant assay. The doses tested in the hypoglycaemic assay were 50, 75 and 150 mg/kg of body weight of freeze-dried powder of the variprasadinadi. Acute oral administration of the medium and high doses of variprasadinadi to rats has significantly (p< 0.05) reduced the fasting serum glucose level up to 4 h after the administration and in oral glucose tolerance test, significantly suppressed the rise of serum glucose following the glucose challenge (p<0.05). Hypoglycaemic activity was not found to be dose dependant (r² = 0.2). Hypoglycaemic effect was weaker than glibenclamide, the reference hypoglycaemic drug of sulphonylurea type. The acute oral administration of high dose of the drug for the non-fasted rats did not significantly affect the serum glucose level in the random serum glucose test and the chronic oral administration of high dose of variprasadinadi over a period of 30 days did not significantly affect the fasting serum glucose level of rats. The average radical scavenging activity of variprasadinadi with DPPH was moderate. The freeze-dried extracts of Cyperus rotundus and Coleus zeylanicus exhibited a significant antioxidant activity. Anti-hyperglycaemic activity of the drug may be associated in a part with its antioxidant activity. It is concluded that the variprasadinadi is a safe, acute oral hypoglycaemic and antihyperglycaemic compound drug. Further the results of the present study support the claims made in the Sri Lankan traditional medicine on the therapeutic uses of the decoction variprasadinadi in the treatment of diabetes mellitus.
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Keywords
Plant Sciences , Variprasadinadi