Hypoglycemic activity of aqueous extract of Urtica parviflora roxb. in normoglycemic rats

Abstract

In the present study aqueous and ethanolic extract of leaves of Urtica parviflora were evaluated for hypoglycemic effect in normal rats using both 18 hr fasted rat model and oral glucose tolerance test. The aqueous extract of leaves showed a good hypoglycemic response in both the models, while ethanolic extract exhibited very week but insignificant effect, only in 18 hr fasted rat model. The aqueous extract was further tested for effect on intestinal glucose absorption. The amount of glucose absorbed in a segment of jejunum in situ was 13±0.75 mg in presence of aqueous extract vs. vs. 9.05±0.68 mg in control rats during 2 h (P<0.05). Phytochemical screening of aqueous extract revealed the presence of alkaloids, reducing sugars, polysaccharides, tannins, saponins, glycosides and flavonoids. The results indicate that aqueous extract possess significant hypoglycemic activity which may be attributed to, in part by reduction of intestinal glucose absorption by the abovementioned chemical constituents. Keywords: Hypoglycemic activity, Urtica parviflora, Oral glucose tolerance test