S. PAHWA, R. MAZUMDER, S. BHATTACHARYA
ABSTRACT
Diabetes mellitus is a major disease characterized by derangement in carbohydrate, fat and protein metabolism, affecting nearly 10% of the population. In the recent past many hypoglycaemic agents have been introduced, still diabetes and the related complications continue to be a major medical problem, not only in developed countries but also in developing countries. Many Indian medicinal plants are reported to be useful in diabetes. However, search for new antidiabetic drugs continues.
Bauhinia purpurea (family: Caesalpiniaceae) is a medium sized, evergreen, ornamental tree found throughout India. The aerial parts of the plant are reported to contain flavanone glycosides, foliar flavonoids, 6-butyl-3-hydroxy flavanone, amino acids, phenyl fatty ester, lutine and β- sitosterol. Flavonoids are polyphenolic compounds that are widely distributed in the plant kingdom. They are reported to exhibit various pharmacological activities such as CNS activity, cardiotonic activity, lipid-lowering activity, antioxidant activity, hepatoprotective activity and hypoglycemic activity.
The present investigation was carried out to study the antidiabetic effect of the methanolic extract of leaf of Bauhinia purpurea in Streptozotocin (STZ) induced diabetic model. The antidiabetic activity was evaluated in normal & STZ induced diabetic rats. Decreased blood glucose levels of the test animals showed that the extract exhibited significant antidiabetic activity, when compared to diabetic control group. The results also indicated dose dependent effect. Vehicle control animals were found to be stable in their body weight, but diabetic rats showed significant reduction in body weight during 15 days. The effect of methanolic leaf extract of Bauhinia purpurea on glucose level in STZ induced diabetic rats exhibited a significant reduction (P<0.01) in blood glucose level, when
compared to the diabetic control group. The antidiabetic activity produced by the extract might be due to the increased uptake of glucose at the tissue level or due to an increase in pancreatic beta cell function or due to inhibition of intestinal absorption of glucose.
Keywords: Bauhinia purpurea; Bark; Methanolic extract; Antidiabetic; Streptozotocin