Evaluation of Antidiabetic and Antioxidant Potential of Methanolic Extract of Bixa orellana Seeds

Abstract

Diabetes is considered a serious health problem in Bangladesh and worldwide. The disease is infesting all over the mother earth possessing the most damage associated with physical, mental and financial situation of the population. In this context, it’s truly essential to find an effective, safe yet economically suitable alternative medicine compared to commercially available noxious chemical drugs. Objective: This study aims to find the potential of an alternative natural extract produced from Bixa orellana seeds which is safer and more affordable comparable to the commercially available synthetic agents to reduce Hyperglycemia. It also makes effort to find the seed extracts’ ability to reduce oxidation in comparison to a standard drug, Ascorbic acid. Methodology: This is a Pharmacological study using animal model utilising rat as subjects. The rats were induced as diabetic by injecting alloxan intraperitonially and as treatment Bixa Orellana seed extracts were given to them at 500mg/kg and 1000mg/kg doses and compared with the hypogycemic effect of standard anti-diabetic drug, Metformin Hydrochloride at the dose of 100mg/kg. For analyzing the anti-oxidant activity, the DPPH free radical scavenging assay method has been used, where the IC50 values of both the Bixa Orellana seed extract and the reference drug, Ascorbic acid was collated. Results: It was found that the seed extracts used at 500 mg/kg and 1000 mg/kg evidently reduced the blood glucose level as opposed to the diabetic control group, more importantly with the rats treated with standard, Metformin Hydrochloride. Therefore, the study revealed that the seed extract can be effectively used to treat diabetic patients without any side effects. This experimentation, also by assessing the IC50 values, disclosed that the Bixa Orellana seed extract has moderate to substantial anti-oxidant potential in contrary to the reference drug.