Abstract
The Corchorus olitorius seeds were pulverized (grounded) to powder. The powdered seed (200 g) was extracted with 500 ml of ethanol (99.9%) within a period of 24 h and the procedure repeated 3 times using the same powdered extract. Extraction and fractionation were carried out with some modification in the choice of primary solvent (water) and partitioning (separating) solvents (hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and butanol). The fractions obtained (hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, saturated butanol and last remaining aqueous) were tested for antidiabetic and phytochemical properties. Two doses were employed while testing in diabetic rats, 500 and 250 mg/kg body weight. Diabetes was induced by a single intraperitoneal injection of 150 mg/kg body wt alloxan (Sigma) in saline. Animals with a blood glucose level ≥ 150 mg/dl were considered diabetics. All the fractions had some bioactivity in alloxan induced diabetic rats. The activity being better with the 500 mg doses than the 250 mg. Statistical significance (p Ë‚ 0.05) in bioactivity (blood sugar change) was only seen with the aqueous fraction (1 h post treatment), chloroform fraction (1, 3 and 4 h post treatment) and the ethyl acetate fraction (2 and 3 h post treatment). The action of the seed extract can be attributed to phytochemical content of the extract. Of these flavanoids, alkaloids, saponins have been reported to have hypoglycaemic effect. Key words: Corchorus olitorius (CO), alloxan induced diabetic rat, fractionation, antidiabetic, phytochemical.
Highlights
The therapeutic cure for diabetes mellitus has remained elusive despite the discovery of an array of medications that can ameliorate the outcome of the disease (Holman, 2013)
The phytochemicals isolated in the raw powdered seed were seen in the ethanol extract, with exception of anthraquinone which was absent in the ethanol extract
Using the calculated percentage reduction in blood sugar (Table 4), in the 1st hour, all the fractions were noticed to have a better sugar control to glibenclamide in the following order; aqueous fraction, ethyl acetate, hexane, chloroform and butanol fractions
Summary
The therapeutic cure for diabetes mellitus has remained elusive despite the discovery of an array of medications that can ameliorate the outcome of the disease (Holman, 2013). Plants have remained a veritable source for drug discovery the world over (Etuk, 2006). The leaves extract of Corchorus olitorius (CO) had been reported to possess hypoglycaemic effect (Abo et al, 2008) and high antibacterial activity (Adegoke and Adebayo, 2009). The crude ethanolic extract of the seed has been evaluated in our labouratory for antidiabetic properties in experimental animals (In Press). The current effort is aimed at fractionating the ethanolic seed extract of the plant and assessing the antidiabetic effect of each fraction in alloxan induced diabetic rats. The outcome may stimulate the development of an antidiabetic drug from the plant extract
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