Phytochemical, elemental, antioxidant, antimicrobial and hypoglycemic studies of a mixed herbal product used for the management of diabetics
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Date
2018-08-24
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Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Jos
Abstract
Medicinal plants are important sources of disease-preventing compounds, which are important for the treatment of
various health challenges such as diabetes. On an aqueous extract of a herbal product (HP) used for the management
of diabetes, total phenolic and flavonoid contents were determined by Folin-Ciocalteu reagent and AlCl3 method
respectively. Microbiological evaluation was done by determining the total viable, yeast, mould and coliform
bacteria count. The elemental analysis was carried out using atomic absorption spectrometer. The acute toxicity was
done using Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development guideline while the hypoglycemic activity
was evaluated using alloxan-induced diabetic rats. Flavonoids, saponins, alkaloid, cardiac glycoside, steroids and
terpenoids were detected in the HP. Total flavonoid and phenolic contents obtained was 1.58±0.001mg/g quercetin
equivalent and 10.84±0.003 mg/g gallic acid equivalent respectively. Heavy metals Fe and Zn were present while
Cu, Cd, Cr and Pb were absent. Na and K were also present at concentrations of 3.90 and 2.20mg·kg−1 respectively.
The total viable and coliform counts were found to be 1.34 x 105and 9.0 x 104 cfu/g respectively while there was
absence of mould and yeast in the HP. The LD50 of the HP was found to be above 5000 mg/kg. At dose of 125
mg/kg, the HP significantly (P<005) reduced glucose level to 143 mg/dL after 4 hours and to 123 mg/dL after 8
hours. The phytochemicals present, safety and the anti-diabetic activity justify the use of this HP in the management
of diabetes.
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Keywords
Phytochemical screening; Elemental analysis; Herbal product; Diabetes