Rich in methanol and flavonoids, leaf extracts of Synsepalum dulcificum found to have antidiabetic potential in study of rats with type 2 diabetes

Diabetes mellitus is a known metabolic disease that affects millions of people worldwide every year. In fact, millions of individuals suffer from it every single day. Despite it being such a menace, there are ways of treating it. Indeed, there are certain types of plants with known anti-diabetic properties. Now, a team of researchers has managed to look into the anti-diabetic potential of Synsepalum dulcificum leaf extracts by conducting experiments on laboratory rats with Type 2 diabetes.

• Synsepalum dulcificum is a known plant that is said to be indigenous to West Africa. In lieu of sugar and other processed alternatives, it is used to modify the flavor of foods to sweetness naturally, thereby improving the overall flavor without making foods more harmful to human health.
• The researchers tapped into the notion that its leaf extracts were rich in both methanol and flavonoids, which are both important to overall health. They tested the effectiveness of the leaf extract on a set of randomly selected Wistar albino rats.
• Before conducting any experiments, the researchers sub-divided the set of rats into randomly distributed groups of seven, amounting to a total of nine different groups.
• The first group of lab rats served as the normal control group, while groups 2 through 7 were given varying levels of either fructose in their drinking water, MSD and FSD (methanolic and flavonoid-rich leaf extracts of Synsepalum dulcificum, respectively).
• The researchers noted changes in the lab rats’ biochemical parameters, and they did so by conducting certain liver tests, kidney function tests, and checking their lipid profiles. They also looked at lipid peroxidation as well as anti-oxidant enzymes in addition to just histopathology.
• The researchers observed that the daily administration of MSD as well as FSD for 21 straight days, as specified in their method, showed a significant improvement in the observed pathological changes that came about due to type 2 diabetes.

Once they were finished conducting their experiments and analyzing their study’s results, the researchers concluded that the methanolic and flavonoid-rich leaf extracts of Synsepalum dulcificum were indeed useful for their anti-diabetic potential, at least as far as lab rats are concerned for now.

Journal Reference:

Obafemi TO, Akinmoladun AC, Olaleye MT, Agboade SO, Onasanya AA. ANTIDIABETIC POTENTIAL OF METHANOLIC AND FLAVONOID-RICH LEAF EXTRACTS OF SYNSEPALUM DULCIFICUM IN TYPE 2 DIABETIC RATS. Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine. October—December 2017;8(4):238–246. DOI: 10.1016/j.jaim.2017.01.008