Abstract
Context: Bauhinia L. species, including Bauhinia holophylla (Bong.) Steud. (Fabaceae), have traditionally been used to treat diabetes. Bauhinia is a complex botanical genus, and the indiscriminate use of the diverse Bauhinia species is reflected in the experimental divergence of their medicinal potential.Objective: The hypoglycaemic and hypolipidaemic effects, molecular mechanism of action and phytochemical properties of an authentic extract of B. holophylla leaves were evaluated.Materials and methods: A phytochemical study of a 70% EtOH extract was performed using FIA-ESI-IT-MS/MSn and HPLC-PAD-ESI-IT-MS. The extract (200 or 400 mg/kg b.w.) was administered for 14 days to streptozotocin-induced diabetic Swiss mice. Glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity, blood parameters, gene and protein expression, and the in vivo and in vitro inhibition of intestinal glucosidases were assessed.Results: HPLC-PAD-ESI-IT-MS analysis identified flavonoid derivatives of quercetin, myricetin, luteolin and kaempferol. Treatment with 400 mg/kg of the extract reduced blood glucose (269.0 ± 32.4 mg/dL vs. 468.0 ± 32.2 mg/dL for diabetic animals), improved glucose tolerance, decreased cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and increased the mRNA expression of proteins involved in glucogenesis in the liver and muscle, such as PI3-K/Akt, GS, GSK3-β (ser-9), AMPK and Glut4. The activity of intestinal maltase was inhibited in vitro (IC50: 43.0 µg/mL for the extract compared to 516.4 µg/mL for acarbose) and in vivo.Discussion and conclusions: Treatment with B. holophylla was associated with a marked hypoglycaemic effect through the stimulation of glycogenesis and inhibition of gluconeogenesis and intestinal glucose absorption, without increasing basal insulinaemia.
Highlights
Bauhinia L. s.l. (Fabaceae) is a large genus with about 340 species in the tribe Cercideae Bronn with a pantropical intercontinental disjunct distribution (Legume Phylogeny Working Group-LPWG 2013; Lin et al 2014)
Metabolite profiling of the extract of leaves of B. holophylla using flow injection analysis with electrospray ionization and an ion trap analyzer with a mass detector (FIA-ESI-Ion Trap (IT)-MS/MSn) as well as high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to a photodiode array and a mass spectrometer detector (HPLCPAD-ESI-IT-MS) identified 13 flavonoids
The constituents were tentatively identified based on their retention (Rt), ultraviolet (UV) and mass spectrometer (MS) data in comparison with flavonoid fragmentation patterns previously described by Saldanha et al (2013)
Summary
Bauhinia L. s.l. (Fabaceae) is a large genus with about 340 species in the tribe Cercideae Bronn with a pantropical intercontinental disjunct distribution (Legume Phylogeny Working Group-LPWG 2013; Lin et al 2014). (Fabaceae) is a large genus with about 340 species in the tribe Cercideae Bronn with a pantropical intercontinental disjunct distribution (Legume Phylogeny Working Group-LPWG 2013; Lin et al 2014). These species are popularly known as ‘cow’s foot’, ‘cow’s paw’, or pata-de-vaca due to their characteristic bilobate or bifoliolate leaves with pulvinate petiole and basal actinodromous or acrodromous venation. The leaf architecture characteristics of this genus have been extensively studied and form the basis of the biogeographic history, identification and classification of Bauhinia s.l.
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