The plant Eclipta prostrata, a member of the Asteraceae family, has traditional reputation of being used as a medicinal agent in Bangladesh [1]. The methanol extract of the whole plant of Eclipta prostrata and one of its isolated compounds, eclalbasaponin II (1) were administered to alloxan-induced diabetic rats for 28 and 7 consecutive days, respectively. During the study, a potent antidiabetic activity was observed. Blood sugar was significantly reduced (Table 1 and 2) by E. prostrata extract and eclalbasaponin II (1), respectively as compared to untreated diabetic rats [2,3]. Analyses of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) [4] showed no significant hepatotoxicity by E. prostrata extractive in alloxan-induced diabetic rats when compared to the diabetic control rats.
Table 1: The effect of 4 weeks treatment of methanolic extract of E. prostrata on blood sugar level
|
Groups
|
Mmol/L
|
|
|
1st day
|
7th day
|
14th day
|
21st day
|
28th day
|
|
Normal (untreated)
|
4.85±0.08
|
5.02±0.10
|
4.91±0.07
|
4.79±0.11
|
4.85±0.06
|
|
Diabetic control
|
12.03±0.18**
|
12.98±0.19**
|
14.05±0.23**
|
15.09±0.28**
|
17.20±0.22**
|
|
Glibenclamide treated
|
12.18±0.55
|
10.82±0.18
|
9.53±0.21
|
7.08±0.16
|
6.43±0.16
|
|
Methanolic extract treated
|
12.69±0.32
|
10.85±0.16*
|
9.37±0.20**
|
7.21±0.24**
|
6.55±0.11**
|
Table 2: The effect of 1 week treatment of eclalbasaponin II (1) on blood sugar level
|
Groups
|
Mmol/L
|
|
|
1st day
|
3rd day
|
5th day
|
7th day
|
|
Normal untreated
|
4.8±0.56
|
5.03±0.48
|
4.85±0.55
|
4.95±0.40
|
|
Diabetic control
|
12.40±0.35**
|
12.49±0.44**
|
12.97±0.51**
|
13.52±0.34**
|
|
Glibenclamide treated
|
12.78±0.25
|
12.01±0.31
|
11.63±0.26
|
10.51±0.35
|
|
Eclalbasaponin treated
|
12.87±0.68
|
10.80±0.71**
|
8.17±0.65**
|
6.06±0.66**
|
Values are given as mean±SEM for 6 rats in each group. Diabetic control (Group-2) was compared with normal (Group-1) on corresponding day. Experimental group (Group-4) was compared with diabetic control group on corresponding day. *P<0.05; **P<0.001
Acknowledgement: We are grateful to University of Dhaka, Bangladesh for partial financial support for carrying out the research.
References: 1. Abdel-Kader, M.S. et al. (1998)J. Nat. Prod. 61:1202–1208. 2. Yoshikawa, M. et al. (2001) Chem. Pharm. Bull. 49:863–870. 3. Trinder, P. (1969) Ann. Clin. Biochem. 6:24–27. 4. Mansour, H.A. et al. (2002) Toxicology 170:221–228.
