Effect of Aqueous Extracts of some Ayurvedic Medicinal Plants on Tissues Involved in Glucose Homeostasis 'in vitro'

Abstract

Aqueous extracts of some antidiabetic Ayurvedic plant treatments such as Trigonella foenum-graecum Linn (TFG), Pterocarpus marsupium Roxb (PM), Gymnema sylvestre R.Br (GS) and Curcuma longa Linn (CL) were tested for their biological effects on glucose uptake by mouse muscle tissue and insulin secretion from mouse pancreas under both basal and hyperglycemic culture conditions. The results indicate that none of these treatments have a significant effect on either glucose uptake by muscle or insulin secretion from the pancreas under basal conditions. Under hyperglycemic conditions all treatments except GS demonstrate significant effects on glucose uptake by muscle tissue, and all treatments were effective at increasing insulin secretion from pancreas. This suggests that all these plant treatments enhance glucose homeostasis by stimulating either insulin secretion (GS) or enhancing glucose uptake (TFG) or activating both (CL and PM).