Assessment of anti-diabetic activity of the aqueous extract of leaves of Astilboides tabularis

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Astilboides tabularis has a long history of usage as the functional food with the effect of adjunctive therapy of diabetic in northeast of China. The present study was undertaken to assess anti-diabetic activity of the aqueous extract of leaves of A. tabularis and provided experimental evidence for the clinical usage of A. tabularis in the treatment of diabetes mellitus. Materials and methods: The aqueous extracts of leaves of A. tabularis (EAT) were orally administered at 300 and 600 mg/kg dose to epinephrine-induced and alloxan-induced diabetes mice. Hypoglycemic effects, change in body weight, water intake, food intake, lipid profile and lipid peroxidant were assessed. Furthermore, the main chemical components of EAT were isolated and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis was employed to identify the phytochemical composition of the plant extract. The finally, total flavonoids content and total phenolic content were quantified by colorimetric assay. Results: EAT showed a significant reduction in blood glucose level at both 300 and 600 mg/kg (ig). In addition, EAT also exhibited a profound antioxidant effect for increasing SOD and GSH-px activity and decreasing TBARS activity at both low and high dose. Furthermore, EAT also could significantly decrease the contents of TC and TG. The 8 main constituents of EAT are also isolated and characterized and the content of total flavonoid and total phenolic are 22% and 25% in EAT respectively. Conclusion: The present investigation revealed that EAT possess potent anti-diabetic activity and polyphenol compounds may be the main active ingredients.