• Plant Resources
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.161-170
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• 2001

A major portion of drugs used in Ayurvedic system of medicine which has been practiced since the early human civilization in Indian subcontinent were of plant origin. It should be noted that 70% of the population in this region depends on Ayurveda for their medical treatment and 60% of the drug resources are obtained from the Himalayan region. Therefore, Nepal becomes a potential source of plant drug resource since it occupies a major portion of the Himalaya. In the present paper, in general a current status of medicinal plant resources of Himalayan region especially Nepal will be discussed. In addition to this, a typical example of antidiabetic activity of Shilajit will be taken for the discussion. Shilajit is one of the crucial elements in several formulations including those of Rasayana, a therapy in Ayurveda, which has been practiced in the prevention of ageing and mental disorder. Although, Shilajit is widely used for the treatment of diabetes, no satisfactory scientific reports are available up to now. The crude Shilajit in the market is a dark brown or black rock-like substance collected from the Himalayan region with a strong smell of cow's stale urine. In our studies, Shilajit (collected in the central Himalayan region) prevented the diabetes in nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice model. Shilajit also prevented the diabetes in the rats against the action of multiple low-dose (10 mg/kg, i.v., 5 times) of streptozotocin. On the other hand, Shilajit did not show antioxidative activity. The preventive action of Shilajit on diabetes is mainly focused on the Thl and Th2 cell activities, since Th2 cells activity was found to be significantly upregulated. Shilajit, however, showed a mild action in controlling the blood sugar level in young, old, and mild diabetic rats, but not in the severe diabetic rats. It also stimulated the nitric oxide production in macrophages. Based on these evidences, the antidiabetic activities of Shilajit appear to be immunomodulative probably by protecting or strengthening insulin-producing b-cells in the pancreas. Further systematic research on constituents of Shilajit and its quality evaluation is necessary to enable the use of natural medicines in the treatment of diabetes.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.17-22
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• 2007

Fresh unripe whole fruits of Luffa tuberosa (Roxb.) or Momordica tuberosa (Roxb.) Cogn. (Cucurbitaceae) were evaluated for the antidiabetic and hyperlipidemic potential in streptozotocin (STZ) induced diabetic rats. Diabetes was induced by administration of intra-peritoneal injection of streptozotocin at a dose of 55 mg/kg body weight. After the induction of diabetes aqueous extract of L.tuberosa (AELT) was administered orally at doses of 250 and 500 mg/kg. body weight/day for a period of 14 days. The Fasting blood glucose (FBG) levels, serum insulin levels, changes in body weight, food and liquid intake were measured. In diabetic rats, the AELT exhibited significant reduction in blood glucose levels. Biochemical assay of plasma total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLc), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLc), glycogen content and glucose-6-phosphatase activity in liver were assessed. Antihyperlipidemia in diabetic rats after the extract supplementation was confirmed by significant reduction in the levels of above mentioned hyperlipidemic indicators. This study focus on the efficacy of L.tuberosa fruits for the management of experimental STZ induced diabetic rats and provides the scientific basis of ancient herbal therapy and use of these fruits as vegetable.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.155-171
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• 2020

Fermented products, including sausages, provide several health benefits, particularly when probiotics are used in the fermentation process. This study aimed to examine the cytotoxicity (against Caco-2 and MCF-7 cell lines), antihypertensive activity via angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibition, antioxidant capacity, antidiabetic activity via α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibition, proteolysis rate, and oxidative degradation of fermented camel and beef sausages in vitro by the novel probiotic Lactococcus lactis KX881782 isolated from camel milk. Moreover, camel and beef sausages fermented with commercial starter culture alone were compared to those fermented with commercial starter culture combined with L. lactis. The degree of hydrolysis, antioxidant capacity, cytotoxicity against Caco-2 and MCF-7, α-amylase, α-glucosidase, and ACE inhibitory activities were higher (p<0.05) in fermented camel sausages than beef sausages. In contrast, the water and lipid peroxidation activity were lower (p<0.05) in camel sausages than beef sausages. L. lactis enhanced the health benefits of the fermented camel sausages. These results suggest that camel sausage fermented with the novel probiotic L. lactis KX881782 could be a promising functional food that relatively provides several health benefits to consumers compared with fermented beef sausage.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.488-496
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• 2015

This study was done to investigate the antidiabetic and antioxidant effects of Cibotium barometz in Streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. Diabetes was induced by intravenous injection of STZ at a dose 45mg/kg.b.w. dissolved in citrate buffer(pH4.5). The ethanol extract of Cibotium barometz was orally administrated once a day for 7 days. The contents of serum glucose, triglyceride(TG) and total cholesterol were significantly decreased(p<0.05) in Cibotium barometz treated group compared to the those of STZ-control group, The content of glutathione(GSH) and activity of gluthathione-s-transferase(GST) were significantly increased (P<0.05) in Cibotium barometz treated group compared to the those of STZ-control group. and activityes of catalase(CAT) and glutathione peroxidae(GSH-Px) were signiicantly decreased (P<0.05) in Cibotium barometz treated group compared to the those of STZ-control group. Also the content of hepatic glycogen and activities of glucose-phosphate dehydrogenase(G-6-PDH)and glucokinase(GK) were significamtly increased(p<0.05), but activity of glucose-6-phosphatase (G-6-Pase) was significamtly decreased (p<0.05) in Cibotium barometz treated group compared to the those of STZ-control group. These results indicated that ethanol extract of Cibotium barometz would have antidiabetic and antioxidant effects in STZ-induced diabetic rats.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.399-405
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• 2013

This study was carried out to analyze the effects on antioxidative, antidiabetic, and anti-inflammatory activities of Parthenocissus tricuspidata (PT) stem extracts. The total phenolic contents of hot water and ethanol extracts from PT stems were 61.5 mg TAE/g and 122.1 mg TAE/g, respectively. The antioxidative activities of hot water and ethanol extracts from PT stem were measured by using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity and superoxide dismutase (SOD) assay. The DPPH radical scavenging activities of ethanol extract and butanol fraction were approximately 95% and 92% at 1 mg/ml, respectively, and the SOD activities of ethanol extract and butanol fraction were about 91% and 97% at 1 mg/ml, respectively. The DPPH radical scavenging and SOD activities of ethanol extract and butanol fraction from PT stem increased remarkably increased in a dose-dependent manner and were higher than in the hot water extracts. Compared to the acarbose, a known anti-diabetic drug, which was used as a positive control, the ${\alpha}$-glucosidase inhibitory capacity of PT stem showed a strong inhibitory rate in ethanol extract and in butanol and hexane fractions. We investigated the effect of hot water extract from PT stem on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced nitric oxide (NO) production in RAW 264.7 cells. Hot water extract from PT stem inhibited LPS-induced NO production up to 40% at a treatment of 1 mg/ml. These results suggest that PT stem extracts have an effect on antioxidative, antidiabetic, and anti-inflammatory activities and thus have great potential as antidiabetic materials and a source for natural health products.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.45 no.12
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• pp.1732-1739
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• 2016

The general components and cyclitol compounds of ice plant (Mesembryanthemum crystallinum) were analyzed to examine the possibility of using extracts as functional food materials, the antioxidant effects and antidiabetic activities of the extracts by solvent fraction were tested. Among the mineral contents, contents of K and Na were the largest ($1,213.33{\pm}2.52$ and $545.53{\pm}12.01mg/100g$, respectively), followed by S, Ca, P, and Mg in order of precedence. Among cyclitol compounds, content of D-pinitol was the largest ($4.04{\pm}0.08mg/g$) while contents of chiro-inositol and myo-inositol were relatively small ($2.82{\pm}0.01$ and $0.25{\pm}0.01mg/g$, respectively). Among total phenol contents by solvent fraction, contents of chloroform and ethyl acetate fractions were large ($35.80{\pm}1.33$ and $23.70{\pm}0.62mg\;GAE/g$, respectively). Among antioxidant activity levels examined by DPPH, ABTS, FRAP, and lipid/MA assays, the chloroform fraction commonly showed the highest level of activity while the ethyl acetate fraction showed relatively high levels of activity. The antioxidant activity levels were proportional to total phenol contents by solvent fraction. As for antidiabetic effects, all solvent fractions showed at least 50% ${\alpha}-glucosidase$ inhibitory activity levels while the ethyl acetate, butanol, and chloroform fractions showed high levels activity of $90.33{\pm}0.40$, $87.98{\pm}0.16$, and $86.38{\pm}0.51%$, respectively. The ${\alpha}-amylase$ inhibitory actively levels were in the range of $25.63{\pm}1.45{\sim}60.34{\pm}2.67%$, which was lower than the ${\alpha}-glucosidase$ inhibitory activity levels, but the inhibitory activity levels by solvent fraction were similar. Given the above study results, ice plant can be utilized as a natural material with antioxidative and antidiabetic functionality.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.70-73
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• 2007

Antioxidant and anti-diabetic activities of acorn were evaluated by its potential for scavenging stable DPPH free radical, inhibition of lipid peroxidation, reducing power, and inhibiton of ${\alpha}-glucosidase\;and\;{\alpha}-amylase$. The water extract of acorn exhibited strong antioxidant and antidiabetic related activities in the tested model systems. Solvent fractionation of the water extract revealed that the water fraction and the EtOAc fraction had strong antioxidant activity, and inhibitory activity on ${\alpha}-glucosidase\;and\;{\alpha}-amylase$. The water fraction exhibited higher DPPH radical scavenging activity ($EC_{50}=7.19{\mu}g/mL$) than that of ${\alpha}-tocopherol\;(EC_{50}=7.59{\mu}g/mL)$. It is considered that water extract of acorn has the potential for natural antioxidant and anti-diabetic products.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.40-45
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• 2009

Guava (Psidium guajava L.) and banaba (Lagerstroemia speciosa L.) are well known as medicinal plants for their antidiabetic effects. These contain a great deal of polyphenol compound and work on the treatment of diabetes mellitus effectively. In this study, the extracts of guava and banaba are consumed by streptozotocin (STZ) induced diabetic rats to compare the antidiabetic effects. According to the comparison result, the glucose level of those STZ-induced diabetic rats has decreased by 19.32%, total cholesterol by 24-46%, triglyceride by 22-67% and free fatty acid by 49-71 % approximately compared to the diabetic rats, while the generation of insulin and the recovery of beta cells have increased. However, the result showed that the antidiabetic effect of guava extracts was higher than that of banaba extracts. This is because the hydrophilic polyphenol compounds contained in banaba leaves were not extracted during the ethanol extraction process, and the antidiabetic activity of the extracted corosolic add was low to surprise.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.103-112
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• 2017

Background: 20(S)-Protopanaxadiol 20-O-D-glucopyranoside, also called compound K (CK), exerts antidiabetic effects that are mediated by insulin secretion through adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-sensitive potassium ($K_{ATP}$) channels in pancreatic ${\beta}$-cells. However, the antidiabetic effects of CK may be limited because of its low bioavailability. Methods: In this study, we aimed to enhance the antidiabetic activity and lower the toxicity of CK by including it with ${\beta}$-cyclodextrin (CD) (CD-CK), and to determine whether the CD-CK compound enhanced pancreatic islet recovery, compared to CK alone, in an alloxan-induced diabetic zebrafish model. Furthermore, we confirmed the toxicity of CD-CK relative to CK alone by morphological changes, mitochondrial damage, and TdT-UTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assays, and determined the ratio between the toxic and therapeutic dose for both compounds to verify the relative safety of CK and CD-CK. Results: The CD-CK conjugate ($EC_{50}=2.158{\mu}M$) enhanced the recovery of pancreatic islets, compared to CK alone ($EC_{50}=7.221{\mu}M$), as assessed in alloxan-induced diabetic zebrafish larvae. In addition, CD-CK ($LC_{50} =20.68{\mu}M$) was less toxic than CK alone ($LC_{50}=14.24{\mu}M$). The therapeutic index of CK and CD-CK was 1.98 and 9.58, respectively. Conclusion: The CD-CK inclusion complex enhanced the recovery of damaged pancreatic islets in diabetic zebrafish. The CD-CK inclusion complex has potential as an effective antidiabetic efficacy with lower toxicity.

• Advances in Traditional Medicine
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.196-204
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• 2003

Aqueous extract of Enicostemma littorale is reported to have antidiabetic activity. In the present investigation, we studied the effect of aqueous extract of E. littorale and its different fractions i.e., toluene, chloroform, ethyl acetate, n-butanol fractions and remaining residual fraction in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced neonatal type 2 diabetic rats. Fasting glucose and insulin levels in NIDDM were significantly (P<0.05) higher than control rats and they were significantly decreased by treatment with aqueous extract of E. littorale and its n-butanol and ethyl acetate fractions. Results of oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) showed that aqueous extract and its n-butanol and ethyl acetate fractions significantly (P<0.05) decrease both $AUC_{glucose}$ and $AUC_{insulin}$ values in NIDDM treated groups. Insulin sensitivity $(K_{ITT})$ index of NIDDM control was significantly lower as compared to normal control and this was significantly (P<0.05) increased after treatment with aqueous extract, its n-butanol and ethyl acetate fractions. Treatment with aqueous extract of E. littorale and its n-butanol and ethyl acetate fractions lowered the elevated cholesterol and triglyceride levels observed in NIDDM rats. Treatment with aqueous extract of E. littorale and its n-butanol fraction showed significant decrease in creatinine, urea, SGPT and SGOT levels as compared to NIDDM control rats. However ethyl acetate fraction showed significant changes only in creatinine and SGOT levels, and not in the levels of urea, and SGPT as compared to NIDDM control rats. Treatment with toluene, chloroform and residual fractions of E. littorale did not produce any effect on glucose, insulin, triglyceride, cholesterol, creatinine, urea, SGPT or SGOT levels as compared to NIDDM control rats. Our data suggest that n-butanol and ethyl acetate fractions contain the active compounds which may be responsible for the above activity and associated complications in NIDDM diabetes mellitus.