EFFECT OF COMBINATION OF TWO PLANT EXTRACTS ON DIABETES MELLITUS

Objective: To investigate the anti-diabetic activity of combined ethanolic extracts (1:1mixture) of dry leaves of Syzygium cumini and Psidium guajava belonging to the family Myrtaceae as well as to compare the anti-diabetic activity of these plants by in vitro methods.Methods: In vitro glucose uptake assay was performed on cultured L6 cell lines (rat myoblast cell line) and estimated the glucose uptake using high sensitivity glucose oxidase kit. In vitro alpha amylase inhibitory assay was performed on porcine alpha amylase and the absorbance was measured at 540 nm using a microplate reader. Acarbose was used as the standard in both the methods.Results: At a concentration of 100µg/ml the percentage glucose uptake by the combined ethanolic extract (1:1 mixture) of Syzygium cumini and Psidium guajava leaves was 43.95 while for acarbose the corresponding value was 51.71. At 100 μg/ml the percentage of glucose uptake by Syzygium cumini and Psidium guajava was 27.62 and 22.17 respectively. The percentage inhibition of alpha amylase by the combined ethanolic extract (1:1 mixture) of Syzygium cumini and Psidium guajava leaves at a concentration of 1000 µg/ml was 36.51 and it was 29.26 for Syzygium cumini and 23.43 for Psidium guajava. For acarbose the percentage inhibition of alpha amylase was 73.82 at the concentration of 1000 µg/ml.Conclusion: The combined extract of the leaves of the plants selected was found to be more effective than individual plant extracts against diabetes. The percentage glucose uptake of the combined extract was found to be closer to that of the standard drug acarbose. On comparison of two plants Syzygium cumini was found to be more active against diabetes than Psidium guajava. As the 1:1 mixture of the ethanolic extract is found to be more active, the combination of the two plants can be used to formulate drugs for treating diabetes.