Antidiabetic Activity of Methanolic Leaf Extract and Different Fractions of Zephyranthes Candida in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats

Since long back, herbal medicines have been the highly-esteemed source of medicine; therefore, they have become a growing part of modern, high-tech medicine. Zephyranthes candida (ZC) has been mentioned in the Indian System of Traditional Medicine for the treatment of diabetes mellitus. The objective of this study was to evaluate the anti-diabetic activity of methanolic leaf extract of Zephyranthes candida (MLZ) and its different fractions in healthy and Streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. Healthy wistar and STZ-induced diabetic rats were treated orally with MLZ (100, 200 and 400 mg/kg) and glipizide (5 mg/kg) for 21 consecutive days. Blood samples were collected from the retro orbital plexus on 1 st , 8 th , 15 th and 21 st day. In another study, STZ-induced diabetic rats were treated with glipizide (5 mg/kg), fraction I [hexane: ethyl acetate (1:1)], fraction II [chloroform: methanol (1:1)] and fraction III [chloroform: methanol (2:8)]. Blood glucose levels and lipid profiles were determined using ERBA, semiautoanalyzer. The methanolic extract was further analyzed for phytochemical analysis. MLZ (100, 200 and 400 mg/kg) showed a signi?cant reduction in blood glucose levels which were comparable to that of the standard anti-diabetic drug, glipizide. The total cholesterol, triglycerides and low density lipoproteins levels were significantly reduced by MLZ in diabetic rats. All the three fractions are also reduced the blood glucose levels after single oral administration ( p<0.01 ). In phytochemical analysis, MLZ showed the presence of flavonoids, glycosides and alkaloids. The present study results indicated that Zephyranthes Candida possess anti-diabetic and lipid lowering effects may be due to the antioxidant activity of flavonoids or alkaloids. Further studies are needed to elucidate the structures and to evaluate the exact mechanism of anti-diabetic action of the active components.