Studies on the in vivo hypoglycemic activities of two medicinal plants used in the treatment of diabetes in Jordanian traditional medicine following intranasal administration
Introduction
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a metabolic disorder resulting from a defect in insulin secretion, insulin action or both (Moore et al., 2004). Despite the fact that it has worldwide a high prevalence, morbidity and mortality, it is regarded as a non-curable but controllable disease. In addition to different synthetic drugs, plant remedies and dietary traditions play an effective role in diminishing the suffering. The potential role of the medicinal plants as hypoglycemic agents has been reviewed by several authors, supported by the ethnobotanical surveys and traditional medicines of different cultures (Ivorra et al., 1989, Ur-Rahman and Zaman, 1989, Wang and Ng, 1999, Jouad et al., 2001, Grover et al., 2002, Yeh et al., 2003, Biesalski, 2004, Li et al., 2004).
In Jordan and in neighboring countries with similar flora, different working groups have shown great interest in the use of medicinal plants by native inhabitants and several publications have appeared in this respect (Al-Khalil, 1995, Abu-Irmaileh and Afifi, 2000, Abu-Irmaileh and Afifi, 2003, Afifi and Abu-Irmaileh, 2000). In fact, in this part of the world, the use of plant extracts has no boundaries for their curative activities and uses, even in the treatment of chronic diseases, such as diabetes. Two indigenous plants, very widely used in the management of diabetes are Paronychia argentea Lam. (Caryophyllaceae) and Teucrium polium L. (Labiatae). Both plants found to be known to all herbalists in Jordan (Afifi and Abu-Irmaileh, 2000).
Paronychia argentea Lam. is a perennial plant, 30–50 cm long and widely distributed in Jordan. The leaves, up to 2 mm long and 5 mm broad, are not hairy, linear lanceolate and sometimes ovate with acute tips. Flower heads lateral and terminal, dense, intermixed with leaves. Flowering time is from January to April (Abu-Irmaileh, 2000). In previous ethnobotanical surveys different medicinal uses have been claimed for Paronychia argentea. Dafni et al. (1984) reported the use of a leaf decoction of this plant as a diuretic, in treatment of kidney stones, diabetes and heart pains. In a similar study, carried out by Ali-Shtayeh et al. (2000) in West Bank, Palestine Paronychia argentea is listed as a popular plant of the region and used primarily in the urinary system and treatment of stones. Abu Soud et al. (2004) found Paronychia argentea inhibits alpha amylase activity by 85%, when tested by the starch–iodine method according to Hansawasdi et al. (2000). This promising observation was not repeated when the same plant was given orally to streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Paronychia argentea showed only a non-significant decrease of the blood sugar in the first hour after administration (Hamdan and Afifi, 2004). Paronychia argentea reported to contain the flavonoids isorhamnetin, quercetin and luteolin (Rizk, 1986). Hypoglycemic activity has been observed with different flavonoid aglycons and glycosides (Zarzuelo et al., 1996, Koenig et al., 1998, Ong and Khoo, 2000, Borradaile et al., 2003, De-Sousa et al., 2004, Jung et al., 2004, Kim et al., 2004, Pinent et al., 2004).
Teucrium polium L. is one of 300 species of the genus Teucrium and found mainly in the Mediterranean and Western Irano-Turanian sphere. It is widely distributed in Jordan and Palestine. The leaves, 1–3 cm long, are sessile, oblong or linear; the stems are ending in a shortly paniculate or corymbose inflorescences, corolla is white or pale cream colored (Feinbrun-Dothan, 1978). Several researchers have evaluated Teucrium polium grown in different geographic areas phytochemically. Most of these studies, based on the GC analysis of the extracts, revealed the presence of several volatile compounds, varying in the major constituent(s) and their concentration depending on the geographic origin (Wassel and Ahmed, 1974, Hassan et al., 1979, Vokou and Bassier, 1985, Salhab et al., 1987, Perez-Alonso et al., 1993, Kamel and Sandra, 1994, Cakir et al., 1998, Kovacevic et al., 2001). Rizk et al. (1986) reported the presence of flavonoids and iridoids in Teucrium polium. Hypoglycemic activity has been reported – in addition to the flavonoids – also for the volatile oils (Al-Hader et al., 1994, Talpur et al., 2005). Traditionally, especially in the Mediterranean countries, Teucrium polium, is used for its antispasmodic and hypoglycemic activities by the native inhabitants and recommended by the herbalists (Dafni et al., 1984, Ali-Shtayeh et al., 2000, Abu-Irmaileh and Afifi, 2003). Anti-inflammatory, anti-hypertensive, antinociceptive, anti-ulcer and anorexic effects are other activities reported (Twaij et al., 1987, Gharaibeh et al., 1989, Tariq et al., 1989, Agel et al., 1990, Suleiman et al., 1998, Abdollahi et al., 2003, Baluchnejadmojarad et al., 2005). Gharaibeh et al. (1984) reported reduction in blood glucose concentrations of streptozocin-hyperglycemic rats after treatment with a single i.v., i.p. and oral dose of Teucrium polium aqueous decoction. Esmaeili and Yazdanparast (2004) observed significant decrease in blood concentration of streptozocin-hyperglycemic rats after six weeks of consecutive oral treatment with ethanol/water extract. In a recent study, Abu Soud et al. (2004) failed to proof alpha amylase inhibitory activity with the methanol/water extract of Teucrium polium.
The present study was designed to observe the effects of these two plants on blood sugar of the rabbit after intranasal administration of the crude extracts. One of the major advantages of the intranasal drug delivery is the rapid absorption and quick onset of the therapeutic action.
Section snippets
Plant material
Paronychia argentea and Teucrium polium were collected from the Salt-area (50 km north of Amman) in early summer 2004 and were identified and authenticated by Prof. Dr. B.E. Abu-Irmaileh, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Jordan. Each plant was given a herbarium specimen number (Paronychia argentea: 2 CARY-FMJ/D-04, Teucrium polium: 12LABI-FMJ/D-04) and voucher samples were deposited in the herbarium collection of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of
Results
Fig. 1 shows the effect of Paronychia argentea Lam. and Teucrium polium L. extracts on the normo-glycemic and hyperglycemic rats compared to their vehicle treated controls after administration of one single dose. Results of the statistical analysis indicated no significant differences at the 5% significant level between the control group and the groups of the diabetic rabbits treated with the two plant extracts.
Multiple comparison of the mean glucose level after six treatments were conducted
Discussion
Nasal drug delivery offers many advantages among which the fast onset of therapeutic action due to the rapid absorption, but the administration of plant extracts intranasally is not a common practice. One well known exemption for this type administration is the traditional use of Ecballium elattarium throughout the Arabic countries, including Jordan in the treatment of jaundice. The fruit juice is gently squeezed into the nostrils (Boulos, 1983). In the literature, only a few pharmacological
Acknowledgment
The authors would like to thank the Deanship of the Scientific Research, the University of Jordan for the financial support, also to thank Miss Ihsan Al-Omari for technical help.
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