Pharm. Pharmacol. Commun. 2000, 6: 451±453 # 2000 Pharm. Pharmacol. Commun.

Received March 27, 2000

Accepted June 9, 2000

Anti-diabetic Activity of Jussiaea suffruticosa Extract in Rats

T. MURUGESAN, BHASKARA RAO, SANGHAMITRA SINHA, SWATI BISWAS, M. PAL
AND B. P. SAHA

Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Jadavpur University, Calcutta-700 032, India

Abstract
The hypoglycaemic and anti-hyperglycaemic potential of a methanolic extract of Jussiaea
suffruticosa Linn. (family-Onagraceae) was evaluated in normal and alloxan-diabetic rats.
In normal rats, the methanolic extract of J. suffruticosa Linn. (200 and 400 mg kgÿ1)
exhibited signi®cant hypoglycaemic activity (P < 0
05) within 3 h after oral administra-
tion. The plasma glucose concentration was 89
83  6 mg=100 mL (control 115
5 
3
6 mg=100 mL) at 3 h and 78
16 5
7 mg=100 mL (control 113
2  4
2 mg=100 mL) at
4
5 h after oral administration of 400 mg kgÿ1 of the methanolic extract. The effect was
prolonged up to 24 h and the plasma glucose concentration fell to 75
66  5
5 mg=100 mL
(control 112
16 3
7 mg=100 mL). The effect was dose-dependent. In alloxan-diabetic rats,
the methanolic extract (400 mg kgÿ1) showed a signi®cant anti-hyperglycaemic effect
(P < 0
05) from 1
5 h after oral administration. This effect was prolonged up to 24 h and
the plasma glucose concentration fell to 173
66  6 mg=100 mL (control 296
67 
4
9 mg=100 mL) compared with 166
83  6
7 after oral administration of 10 mg kgÿ1
glibenclamide (standard).
The results indicate that the methanolic extract of whole plants of J. suffruticosa Linn.
has potent hypoglycaemic potential in normoglycaemic rats and alloxan-diabetic rats.

Diabetes mellitus is characterized by hyperglycae-
mia due to an absolute or relative de®ciency of
insulin. In traditional medicine, several medicinal
plants or their extracts have been used to treat
diabetes (Akhtar and Ali 1984).
Efforts continue in the ®eld of medicine to ®nd
insulin substitutes from synthetic or plant sources
for the treatment of diabetes. Active constituents of
plants, such as ¯avonoids, are known to be used for
the treatment of diabetes (Meiselman et al 1976;
Choi et al 1991; Erenmemisoglu et al 1995). Jus-
siaea suffruticosa Linn. (family-Onagraceae) is a
well known traditional medicine in India. The plant
is used for the treatment of fever, rheumatoid
arthritis, jaundice, diarrhoea, dysentery, mental
illness and worm infestation (Nadkarni & Nad-
karni: 1992). The whole plant juice is also used as a
diuretic. We have previously evaluated some of
these activities in rats and mice (Murugesan et al
1999, 2000a, b). It has come to our notice that
patients in the rural area of Tamilnadu (India) use
the whole plant of J. suffruticosa, crushed with
Correspondence: B. P. Saha, Department of Pharmaceutical
Technology, Jadavpur Univeristy, Calcutta-700 032, India.
water and taken orally, for the treatment of dia-
betes. This study was therefore undertaken to
determine the hypoglycaemic and anti-hypergly-
caemic potential of a methanolic extract
of J. suffruticosa Linn. in normal and alloxan-
diabetic rats.
Materials and Methods
Plant material
J. suffruticosa Linn. was collected from a culti-
vated paddy ®eld near Thanjavur, Tamilnadu,
India. The plant was identi®ed by the Botanical
Survey of India, Shibpur, Howrah, and a voucher
specimen was deposited.
Extraction procedure
The whole plants were dried under shade at a
controlled temperature and pulverized using a
mechanical grinder. The powdered plant material
was passed through a 40-mesh sieve and extracted
with 90% methanol. The solvent was removed
under reduced pressure to give a dry extract, 9
5%
yield w=w (with respect to the powdered material).
452
The extract was stored in a refrigerator and a
weighed quantity was suspended in 2% v=v Tween
80 solution for the experiment.
Phytochemical studies
The chemical make-up of the methanolic extract of
J. suffruticosa was investigated. From preliminary
phytochemical analysis, it was found that the
extract showed a positive response for the presence
of ¯avonoids, steroids and tannins. This was con-
®rmed by high performance thin-layer chromato-
graphy.
Animals
Male Wistar rats, 180±200 g, were used for the
experiment. The rats were housed in standard
stainless steel cages and had free access to food
and water.
Blood collection
Blood samples were collected from the tail vein of
the rats and plasma was separated within 30 min of
withdrawal for the determination of the glucose
concentration.
Effect of the methanolic extract of J. suffruticosa
on normoglycaemic rats
The method followed was as described by Sharma
et al (1997). Rats were divided into four groups
(n ˆ 6) and fasted for 18 h before the experiment.
The methanolic extract of J. suffruticosa (200 and
400 mg kgÿ1, p.o.) was administered orally to two
groups of rats. One group received 10 mL kgÿ1 2%
v=v aqueous Tween 80 and served as the control.
Another group received the standard drug glib-
enclamide (10 mg kgÿ1) for comparative pharma-
cological assessment. The plasma glucose
concentration was estimated at 1
5, 3, 4
5 and 24 h
Table 1. Effect of the methanolic extract of J. suffruticosa Linn. on normoglycaemic rats.
Dose
1
5
Control (10 mL kgÿ1) 108
83  3
7
Methanolic extract (200 mg kgÿ1) 100
33  4
2
Methanolic extract (400 mg kgÿ1) 99
83  4
8
Glibenclamide (10 mg kgÿ1) 95
33  4
2*
Each value represents the mean  s.e.m., n ˆ 6. *P < 0
05, **P < 0
02, ***P < 0
01, ****P < 0
001 signi®cantly different
compared with control (2% Tween 80 solution).
T. MURUGESAN ET AL
after drug treatment by the ortho-toluidine method
(Hultman 1959; Hyavariner & Nikkita 1962).
Effect of the methanolic extract of J. suffruticosa
on alloxan-diabetic rats
Groups of rats were fasted for 18 h and hypergly-
caemia was induced by intravenous injection in the
tail vein with 70 mg kgÿ1 alloxan monohydrate
every third day for a total of three doses (Rodriguez
et al 1975). Seven days after the last alloxan
injection, blood glucose concentrations in all sur-
viving rats were determined by the ortho-toluidine
method (Hultman 1959; Hyavariner & Nikkita
1962). Rats with blood glucose concentrations of
150±350 mg=100 mL were considered diabetic and
were divided into four groups (n ˆ 6). One group
received 10 mg kgÿ1 glibenclamide and another
group received 2% v=v aqueous Tween 80, and
served as the standard and control, respectively.
Another two groups received the methanolic extract
of J. suffruticosa at oral doses of 200 and
400 mg kgÿ1. The blood glucose concentration was
determined at 1
5, 3, 4
5 and 24 h after drug treat-
ment by the ortho-toluidine method (Hultman
1959; Hyavariner & Nikkita 1962).
Statistical analysis
The results are presented as mean  s.e.m. and
statistical signi®cance between treated and control
groups was evaluated by the Student's t-test.
P < 0
05 was considered signi®cant (Woodson
1987).
Results and Discussion
The hypoglycaemic potential of the methanolic
extract of J. suffruticosa (200 and 400 mg kgÿ1)
was observed in normal rats up to 24 h after oral
administration (Table 1). The methanolic extract
at 200 and 400 mg kgÿ1, signi®cantly reduced
Plasma glucose concentration (mg=100 mL)
Time after treatment (h)
3 4
5 24
115
50  3
6 113
20  4
2 112
16  3
7
95
50  5
5* 84
16  5
0** 81
30  3
6****
89
83  6
0* 78
16  5
7*** 75
66  5
5****
84
33  6
6*** 77
16  4
2*** 69
66  4
2****
 ANTI-DIABETIC ACTIVITY OF J. SUFFRUTICOSA
Table 2. Effect of the methanolic extract of J. suffruticosa Linn. on alloxan-diabetic rats.
Dose
1
5
Control (10 mL kgÿ1) 300
33  4
2
Methanolic extract (200 mg kgÿ1) 294
83  7
3
Methanolic extract (400 mg kgÿ1) 273
15  8
2**
Glibenclamide (10 mg kgÿ1) 278
00  8
5
Each value represents the mean  s.e.m., n ˆ 6. **P < 0
02, ***P < 0
01, ****P < 0
001 signi®cantly different compared with
control (2% aqueous Tween 80).
(P < 0
05) the plasma glucose concentration at 3 h
after administration, compared with the control
group, and the action was prolonged up to 24 h with
maximum hypoglycaemic activity (P < 0
001).
This effect was comparable with the effect pro-
duced by standard drug glibenclamide (10 mg kgÿ1)
at 1
5 h (P < 0
05) and up to 24 h (P < 0
001) after
administration.
The methanolic extract of J. suffruticosa
(200 mg kgÿ1) exhibited signi®cant anti-hypergly-
caemic activity (P < 0
02) on alloxan-diabetic rats
from 1
5 h after oral administration. The methanolic
extract at 400 mg kgÿ1 produced maximum activity
(P < 0
001) at 4
5 h after administration and the
effect was prolonged up to 24 h. The methanolic
extract showed potent anti-hyperglycaemic activity
comparable with the effect produced by the stan-
dard drug glibenclamide (10 mg kgÿ1) (Table 2).
The methanolic extract of the whole plant of
Jussiaea suffruticosa showed signi®cant hypogly-
caemic activity in normal rats and anti-hyper-
glycaemic activity in alloxan-diabetic rats. The
mechanism of the hypoglycaemic activity of the
methanolic extract has not yet been established.
The effects of the methanolic extract of J. suf-
fruticosa were comparable with glibenclamide, a
standard anti-diabetic agent.
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to the Council of Scienti®c and
Industrial Research authority, New Delhi, for
®nancial support to T. Murugesan for this project.
We thank the Botanical Survey of India, Shibpur,
Howrah, for identi®cation of the plant specimen.
453
Plasma glucose concentration (mg=100 mL)
Time after treatment (h)
3 4
5 24
298
50  7
4 298
33  4
7 296
67  4
9
250
83  6
7*** 201
00  5
1**** 196
16  4
7****
232
50  8
4*** 194
33  5
5**** 173
66  6
0****
219
16  7
9*** 173
00  6
0**** 166
83  6
7****
References
Akhtar, F. M., Ali, M. R. (1984) Study of the antidiabetic
effect of a compound medicinal plant prescription in normal
and diabetic rabbit. J. Pak. Med. Assoc. 34: 239 ± 244
Choi, J. S., Yokozawa, T., Oure, H. (1991) Improvement of
hyperglycaemia and methanolic extract of Prunus davidana
stems and its main components, prunin. Planta Med. 57:
208 ± 211
Erenmemisoglu, A., Kelestimur, F., Koker, A. H., Ustun, H.,
Tekol, Y., Ustdal, M. (1995) Hypoglycaemic effect of
Zizyphus jujuba leaves. J. Pharm. Pharmacol. 47: 72 ± 74
Hultman, E. (1959) Rapid speci®c method for determination of
aldosaccharides in body ¯uids. Nature 183: 108 ± 109
Hyavariner, A., Nikkita, E. (1962) Speci®c determination of
blood glucose with orthotoluidine. Clin. Chim. Acta 7: 140 ±
143
Meiselman, H. I., Halpern, B. P., Dateo, G. P. (1976) Reduc-
tion of sweetness judgements by extracts from the leaves of
Ziziphus jujuba. Physiol. Behav. 17: 313 ± 317
Murugesan, T., Ghosh, L., Das, J., Pal, M., Saha, B. P. (1999)
CNS activity of Jussiaea suffruticosa Linn. extract in rats
and mice. Pharm. Pharmacol. Commun. 5: 663 ± 666
Murugesan, T., Ghosh, L., Mukherjee, K., Das, J., Pal, M.,
Saha, B. P. (2000a) Evaluation of anti-diarrhoeal pro®le of
Jussiaea suffruticosa Linn. extract in albino rats. Phytother.
Res. 14: 381 ± 388
Murugesan, T., Manikandan, L., Suresh, K. B., Pal, M., Saha,
B. P. (2000b) Evaluation of diuretic potential of Jussiaea
suffruticosa Linn. extract in rats. Indian J. Pharm. Sci. 4:
150 ± 151
Nadkarni, M. M., Nadkarni, A. K. (1992) Indian Materia
Medica. Popular Prakasan, Bombay, Vol I: 73
Rodriguez, G.H., Perez, G. C. (1975) Induction de diabetes en
raton con aloxana. Rev. Acta Medica. 42: 33 ± 36
Sharma, S. R., Dwivedi, S. K., Swarup, D. (1997) Hypogly-
caemic, antihyperglycaemic and hypolipidemic activity of
Caesalpinia bonducella seeds in rats. J. Ethnopharmacol.
58: 39 ± 44
Woodson, R. F. (1987) Statistical Methods for the Analysis of
Biomedical Data. Probability and Mathematical Statistics.
Wiley, Chichester, pp 315 ± 316