Abstract
A polyherbal drug composed of leaves of Murraya koenigii L. Spreng, cloves of Allium sativum L., fruits of Garcinia quaesita Pierre, and seeds of Piper nigrum L. is a popular drug which has been used by indigenous practitioners in Sri Lanka for the treatment of diabetes mellitus and dyslipidemia. The acute toxicity assessment was conducted, following a single oral dose of 0.25–2.0 g/kg in healthy rats, and rats were observed up to 14 days. The hot water extract (1.0 g/kg) and the water : acetone extract (0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 g/kg) were administered to Wistar rats for 28 days in the subchronic study. Hypoglycemic and antihyperglycemic activities (dose response studies) of cold water, hot water, and water : acetone extracts of the polyherbal mixture were evaluated at the doses of 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 g/kg in healthy and streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats (70 mg/kg, ip), respectively. Acute toxicity study showed that the polyherbal drug did not cause any change in animals throughout the experimental period of 14 days. The administration of the hot water extract and the water : acetone extract of the polyherbal drug for 28 days did not produce changes in the selected biochemical and hematological parameters in Wistar rats (p > 0.05). The histological assessment corroborated the biochemical findings with no significant treatment-related changes in the kidney and liver. The treatment of polyherbal drug significantly lowered the serum glucose concentration compared to the diabetic control rats (p < 0.05) while it did not lead to a severe reduction of glucose concentration in healthy rats. The hot water and water : acetone extracts of the polyherbal drug showed a statistically significant improvement on total area under the glucose tolerance curve in diabetic rats (p < 0.05), reflecting dose-dependent antihyperglycemic effects of the drug. Based on the results, we conclude that the aforementioned antidiabetic polyherbal remedy is free of toxic/adverse effects at the equivalent human therapeutic dose in healthy Wistar rats and would be a safe therapeutic agent for long-term treatments.
Highlights
Different types of noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes mellitus have been treated with many traditional medicines which are derived from medicinal plants [1]
Acute Toxicity. e acute toxicity study was performed for 14 days to evaluate the adverse/toxic effects produced by a single exposure of the polyherbal drug in a graded range of doses. e hot water and water : acetone extracts of the polyherbal drug did not lead to mortality or any adverse and alternations such as salivation, diarrhea, asthenia, hypoactivity, hyperactivity, piloerection, hyperventilation, aggressiveness, yellowing or loss of hair and skin fur, drowsiness, convulsions, tremors, and dizziness throughout the experimental period
Ere were no significant alterations in ALT, AST, and ALP enzymes for both hot water and water : acetone extract treated rats and healthy control rats (p > 0.05), which suggests that the polyherbal drug might not have hepatotoxic effects and may preserve normal hepatocellular functions at the selected doses (Table 1). e hot water and water : acetone extracts did not produce any significant alterations in the serum concentrations of total protein, urea, and creatinine in polyherbal drug treated rats compared to the healthy control rats (p < 0.05). ese results indicated that regular kidney functions were maintained normally upon the administration of both extracts in healthy Wistar rats
Summary
Different types of noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes mellitus have been treated with many traditional medicines which are derived from medicinal plants [1]. The major hindrance in incorporation of herbal medicine in modern medical practices is lack of scientific and preclinical data proving their efficacy and safety. (Family: Piperaceae) has been prescribed by many indigenous practitioners in Sri Lanka in the treatment of diabetes mellitus and dyslipidemia [2, 3]. Ingredients of the above mixture are well-known antidiabetic herbal therapeutics in traditional medicine that have been extensively used to manage diabetes in Sri Lanka and in many South Asian countries. Recent scientific studies have disclosed their evidences for potential antidiabetic activity of its ingredients: leaves of M. koenigii, cloves of A. sativum, P. nigrum, and their isolated compounds
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