Ficus Racemosa and Morus indica: Emerging Alternative Antihypergl- ycemic Agents

Despite the great strides made in the understanding and management of diabetes, the disease and diseaserelated complications are increasing unabated. Phytochemicals identified from traditional medicinal plants are presenting an exciting opportunity for the development of new types of therapeutics. Our research group has explored the possible mechanisms of antidiabetic action of two medicinal plants viz., Ficus racemosa bark (FRB) and Morus indica leaves (MI), known to possess antihyperglycemic effect using simple in vitro techniques followed by pre-clinical and clinical studies. Both plants exhibited good glucose adsorption capacity, retarded glucose diffusion, inhibited enteric enzymes viz., α-amylase, α-glucosidase and sucrase emphasizing that inhibition of carbohydrate hydrolyzing enzymes is one of the mechanisms of hypoglycemic action of FRB and MI. Further, both FRB and MI demonstrated significant antihyperglycemic activity in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats associated with significant elevation in serum insulin. The samples also exhibited cholesterol and triglyceride lowering effect. In clinical trials, the antihyperglycemic effect was consistent which resulted in good glycemic control compared to control group.These observations prompted us to postulate the possible mechanism of antihyperglycemic action of the plants to be inhibition of digestion and absorption of dietary carbohydrates in the intestine, modulation of carbohydrate metabolizing enzymes, augmenting insulin synthesis and increasing peripheral utilization of glucose. These studies have provided adequate scientific evidence supporting the usage of these medicinal plants for the treatment of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in traditional system of medicines.