Abstract
Cuscuta reflexa (whole plant) and Calotropis procera (leaves) are used in folk medicine of Bangladesh to control blood sugar in patients suffering from diabetes mellitus. The hypoglycemic effects of methanol and chloroform extracts of whole plants of Cuscuta reflexa, and methanol extract of leaves of Calotropis procera were investigated in oral glucose tolerance tests in Long Evans rats and Swiss albino mice, respectively. Both methanol and chloroform extracts of Cuscuta reflexa whole plant demonstrated significant oral hypoglycemic activity in glucose-loaded rats at doses of 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg body weight. The methanol extract of leaves of Calotropis procera, when tested at doses of 100 and 250 mg/kg body weight did not demonstrate any oral hypoglycemic effect when tested in glucose-loaded mice.
Highlights
IntroductionCuscuta reflexa Roxb. (family: Cuscutaceae alternate Covolvulaceae, nature: a parasitic vine) is prevalent in various regions of Bangladesh
Cuscuta reflexa Roxb. is prevalent in various regions of Bangladesh
Even at the lowest dose administered (100 mg extract/kg bw), serum glucose levels were lower in glucose-challenged rats than obtained with a comparable dose of methanol extract
Summary
Cuscuta reflexa Roxb. (family: Cuscutaceae alternate Covolvulaceae, nature: a parasitic vine) is prevalent in various regions of Bangladesh. Cuscuta reflexa is known to contain a number of -glucosidase inhibitory compounds (Anis et al, 2002). Methanol extracts of the stem reportedly demonstrated anti-steroidogenic (Gupta et al, 2003), and antibacterial activities (Pal et al, 2006). The various pharmacological activities of whole plant or plant parts including latex of Calotropis procera (Ait.) R. Brown (family: Asclepiadaceae, nature: shrub, synonym: Calotropis gigantea) have been documented. Reported activities included analgesic and anthelmintic activities in the flowers (Pathak and Argal, 2007; Iqbal et al, 2005), antipyretic activity in the roots (Chitme et al, 2005), antinociceptive activity in latex (Soares et al, 2005), anti-diarrheal activity in aerial parts (Chitme et al, 2004), anti-fertility activity in the roots (Kamath and Rana, 2002), neuromuscular blocking activity in aerial parts (Mossa et al, 1991), and hepatoprotective activity in stems (Lodhi et al, 2009). The latex of the plant, in addition, reportedly demonstrated antioxidant and protective effect against alloxan-induced diabetes in rats (Roy et al, 2005)
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