Comparative Study of Hypoglycemic Effect of Holarrhena antidysenterica seeds and Glibenclamide in Experimentally Induced Diabetes Mellitus in Albino Rats

To study the efficacy of ethanolic extract of Holarrhena antidysenterica (EEHA) seeds in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats and to investigate the qualitative phytochemical present in the extract. The study also aims to evaluate acute and short-term general toxicity of the extract in albino rats. EEHA seeds were subjected to preliminary qualitative phytochemical investigations by using standard procedures. The extract (300 mg/kg p.o.) was screened for antidiabetic activity in STZ-induced diabetic rats (30 mg/kg, i.p.). Acute oral toxicity study for the test extract of the plant was carried out using OECD/OCED guideline 425. Phytochemical analysis of EEHA seeds revealed the presence of flavonoids, saponins, carbohydrates, steroids, tannins, and phenolic compounds. In acute toxicity study, no toxic symptoms were observed for EEHA up to dose 3000 mg/kg. Oral administration of EEHA for 28th days exhibited highly significant (P < 0.01) hypoglycemic activity. The data were analyzed using analysis of variance for inter group comparison one way ANOVA was followed on SPSS package. The observations confirm that EEHA has antidiabetic activity. It also warrants further investigation to isolate and identify the hypoglycemic principles of this plant so as to elucidate their mode of action.