EFFICACY OF A SYRUP FORMULATED FROM COMBINED EXTRACTS OF VERNONIA AMYGDALINA AND MUSA PARADISIACA FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF TYPE 2 DIABETES
Mukwaya Z, Engoru T, Kainza EJ, Inyani JK, Buligwanga S, Munanura EI, Kalidi R, Mugisha M, Adome OR, Anyama N, Kamba PF, Kaggwa B*
Department of Pharmacy, School of Health Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
Afr. J Pharm Res Dev; Volume 8(2): 71-80; Nov/Dec 2016
ABSTRACT
Diabetes mellitus affects about 415 million people worldwide, of which 400,000 are Ugandans. Vernonia amygdalina (VA) and Musa paradisiaca (MP) are some of the major plants used in Uganda for the management of diabetes mellitus type 2 by herbalists and individual patients; though without proper dosing and safety considerations since there are no standard formulations. In this research, we evaluated the efficacy of a syrup formulated from ethanol VA leaf and methanol MP flower extracts for the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus in streptozocin induced diabetic male waster rats. Efficacy was determined by assessing the glucose lowering abilities of varying combinations of the extracts based on the Oral Glucose Tolerance (OGT) and Random Blood Glucose (RBG) tests against glibenclamide standard. In both the OGT and RBG tests, the 1:1 combination (100 mg/kg VA and 200 mg/kg MP) of the extracts showed hypoglycemic effect greater than that of either of the plants extracts used singly at their most effective doses (100 mg/kg VA or 200 mg/kg) MP; (p<0.05). The hypoglycemic effect of the 1:1 combination (100mg/kg VA and 200 mg/kg MP) was also comparable to glibenclamide (0.05 mg/kg) (p<0.05) at 60 and 120 min for the OGT tests and on day 2 for the RBG tests. The maximum observed activity of Vernonia amygdalina (100 mg/kg) was greater than that of Musa paradisiaca (200 mg/kg) though not significant (p>0.05. Aspartame- sweetened syrup was formulated from the most active combinations; it is pale brown, sweet, homogeneous, with a vanillin flavor and pH 4.27. This study showed that a combined preparation of MA and VP extracts exhibits a synergistic and clinically significant hypoglycemic activity; and that the aspartame based syrup base has not effect on that hypoglycemic effects on MA and VP extracts, made singly or as combination
KEYWORDS: Efficacy, Vernonia amygdalina, Musa paradisiaca, Diabetes Mellitus
*Corresponding Author: kbmujoona@gmail.com