EVALUATION OF THE HYPOGLYCEMIATING POTENTIAL OF BACUPARI EXTRACT (Salacia elliptica) IN DIABETIC MICE

Abstract

Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disease of multiple origins, with a high rate of cases, which makes it a major global health problem, being considered one of the fastest growing global health emergencies in the 21st century. In 2021, it is estimated that 537 million people have diabetes, and this number is projected to reach 643 million in 2030, and 783 million by 2045. With this significant increase in the disease, alternative therapeutic treatment using medicinal plants has been becoming a viable treatment option for chronic diseases, such as diabetes. The objective of this study is to evaluate the hypoglycemic capacity of the crude (ethanolic) extract of bacupari leaves in mice with type I diabetes induced by alloxan. Methodology: The extract was prepared after drying and crushing Bacupari leaves, using the maceration method in ethanol in a 1:3 (mass:volume) ratio, with 500 grams of ground leaves immersed in 1.5L of 92.8% ethanol. at room temperature in 3 filtration stages, then it was sent to a rotary evaporator at 40ºC for finalization. To test the effect of the crude extract of Bacupai leaves, 60 adult male Swiss mice weighing around 50-60g were used, 30 of them were selected to form the control group (normal animals), and the other 30 were subjected to diabetes induction by administration of alloxan, with a dose of 150 mg/kg intraperitoneally. The animals were then redistributed according to treatment groups, with 10 animals/group: Control Group (C); Diabetic Control Group (DC); Salacia elliptica group (extract) (CS); Diabetic Group + Salacia elliptica (extract) (DS); Acarbose Group (α-glucosidase inhibitor) (CA); Diabetic Group + Acarbose (α-glucosidase inhibitor) (DA). Each animal before receiving its treatment received a dose of 10% carbohydrates (corn starch) via gavage. After the treatments, each animal's blood glucose was checked for 240 min (4h) to analyze the influence of the treatments on postprandial blood glucose. Alloxan has proven its diabetogenic activity, developing a high percentage of diabetic conditions in animals and low mortality. Regarding the effectiveness of the ethanolic extract of Bacupari (Salacia elliptica) leaves, it was found that a single dose of 400mg/kg suppressed (p<0.05) postprandial glucose levels in non-diabetic mice. However, this reduction was not observed (p>0.05) in diabetic animals. The effects of the crude extract in reducing postprandial glycemia were proven in normal animals, requiring the development of new research to understand the biochemical effects of the Bacupari extract in order to develop and offer therapies that help in the treatment of diabetes.