HYPOGLYCAEMIC EFFECT OF POWDERED ALSTONIA SCHOLARIS (SATONA)

Abstract

T o assess the hypoglycaemic effect of powdered Alstonia scholaris (Satona) leaves, 2 groups of normal (healthy) human volunteers and 4 groups of already diagnosed out-door patients suffering from non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) were randomly selected. Groups A and B comprising of 6 normal persons each were treated orally with 30 ml of plain water and 1.0 g of the powdered leaves along with 30 ml water, respectively. Groups C, D and E comprised of 6 NIDDM patients each and were treated orally with 1, 2 and 3 g of the powdered A. scholaris leaves, respectively. For comparison of hypoglycaemic activity, a 2.0 mg tablet of Amaryl (a standard hypoglycaemic sulphonylurea drug) was administered once a day to 6 NIDDM patients of Group F. The 2 hours-postprandial blood glucose levels of all test subjects were determined on the post-treatment days 0, 1, 8 and 15. After intake of 30 ml water only, no significant (P>0.05) change in blood glucose was noted while oral administration of Alstonia powder decreased the blood glucose levels of treated normal subjects significantly (P<0.05) on days 8 and 15. However, in NIDDM patients, treatment with 3 g of the powder (Group E) showed a highly significant (P<0.001) decrease in blood glucose on the days 1, 8 and 15th. In NIDDM patients treated with one 2 mg Amaryl tablet each (Group F) also showed a highly significant (P<0.001) decrease in blood glucose levels on the days 1, 8 and 15. It is conceivable, therefore, that powdered Alstonia scholaris leaves exert a consistent hypoglycaemic effect in patients with NIDDM. The mechanism of this hypoglycaemic effect of the plant drug has been already suggested to be insulin triggering and direct insulin-like actions.