Phytochemical, elemental, antioxidant, antimicrobial and hypoglycemic studies of a mixed herbal product used for the management of diabetics

Abstract

Medicinal plants are important sources of disease-preventing compounds, which are important for the treatment of various health challenges such as diabetes. On an aqueous extract of a herbal product (HP) used for the management of diabetes, total phenolic and flavonoid contents were determined by Folin-Ciocalteu reagent and AlCl₃ method respectively. Microbiological evaluation was done by determining the total viable, yeast, mould and coliform bacteria count. The elemental analysis was carried out using atomic absorption spectrometer. The acute toxicity was done using Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development guideline while the hypoglycemic activity was evaluated using alloxan-induced diabetic rats. Flavonoids, saponins, alkaloid, cardiac glycoside, steroids and terpenoids were detected in the HP. Total flavonoid and phenolic contents obtained was 1.58±0.001mg/g quercetin equivalent and 10.84±0.003 mg/g gallic acid equivalent respectively. Heavy metals Fe and Zn were present while Cu, Cd, Cr and Pb were absent. Na and K were also present at concentrations of 3.90 and 2.20mg·kg⁻¹ respectively. The total viable and coliform counts were found to be 1.34 x 10⁵ and 9.0 x 10⁴ cfu/g respectively while there was absence of mould and yeast in the HP. The LD₅₀ of the HP was found to be above 5000 mg/kg. At dose of 125 mg/kg, the HP significantly (P<005) reduced glucose level to 143 mg/dL after 4 hours and to 123 mg/dL after 8 hours. The phytochemicals present, safety and the anti-diabetic activity justify the use of this HP in the management of diabetes.

Keywords: Phytochemical screening; Elemental analysis; Herbal product; Diabetes